Kenyan political leaders sign power-sharing agreement
Thursday, 28 Feb 2008 19:36
Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga have signed a power-sharing deal
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Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have signed a power-sharing deal aimed at ending the violence currently sweeping the country.
The two men signed the agreement at a ceremony in Nairobi today, after a series of talks mediated by former UN secretary Kofi Annan.
Mr Annan announced the deal to reporters earlier, claiming: "We have come to an understanding on the coalition agreement."
A coalition government will now be formed, including members of the current ruling party and the opposition.
The meeting today was the first time Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga had been in the same room for a month after negotiations had previously broken down.
"We've had a very constructive and fruitful day and we've come to an understanding on the coalition agreement… I'm not in a position to tell you anything further, all I can say is we do have an agreement," Mr Annan said.
There was considerable international pressure on Kenya to resolve the crisis that had led to ethnic violence sweeping through the country, resulting in some 1,500 people dying and 300,000 more being displaced.
Violence broke out after the December presidential election in which Mr Kibaki claimed to have retained power while Mr Odinga's party alleged the vote had been rigged.