Annan was forced to adjourn in order to hold consultations with President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga. A source close the talks told AfricaNews that the former UN boss was considering issuing a Friday ultimatum to the two groups to reach a compromise and agree on the pending issues.
Annan has indicated that he would stay on as long as it takes for the two groups to reach a deal that would end the political crisis that led to the death of over 1000 people and over 350,000 displaced.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazier warned that if the two groups fail to resolve the dispute, an external solution to the political crisis would be imposed. She further cast doubt on the outcome of the disputed Dec 27 Presidential election which gave Mwai Kibaki of PNU victory against his closest contender Raila Odinga of ODM.
"Both should acknowledge serious irregularities in the vote tallying which made it impossible to determine with certainty the final result," US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer.
Yesterday, Annan held a hurriedly convened meeting with ODM leader Raila Oinga before proceeding to meet President Mwai Kibaki at States house. Annan later urged the two leaders to take responsibility and ensure that their representatives to the talks must sit down and reach a compromise for the sake of Kenya.
“It's difficult to predict the outcome of the day. We are all waiting to see what happens today. Of course the talks are on and people are consulting”, said Annan's official spokesman Nasser Ega-Musa.
The controversial proposal for the creation of the position of a prime minister and the amount of power that the post would have has forced the government side to backtracking on the initial agreed deal. The PNU argues that the President should wield more power than the Prime minister while the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has proposed for an executive prime minister and a 50-50 split in cabinet postings.
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Tip-to-Annan series See
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burial of violence victim photo galleryKeywords: kenya_elections
