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President Mwai Kibaki and opposition Chief Raila Odinga signed a coalition deal brokered by former UN chief Kofi Annan, ending a two-month long political deadlock that triggered violence across the country. which claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions across the country.
Annan had previously suspended talks between the two sides due to lack of progress.
The main issue dividing the two sides appeared to have been how much power the prime minister would be granted in a nation that provides a constitution for strong presidential rule.
The violence began on Dec. 30, when the election results were announced. The vote count, tainted by accusations of fraud, indicated a victory for incumbent president Mwai Kibaki. Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga began protesting in the streets. Demonstrations and inter-ethnic clashes have caused the deaths of more than 1,000 Kenyans, with hundred of thousands fleeing from their homes.
Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) won 99 seats in the 222-seat Parliament, against 43 for Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU). The rival politicians have agreed to work together with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
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