PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
09 April 2008
Kenyan Leaders Urged to Resume Talks on Coalition Government
Secretary Rice says creation of power-sharing Cabinet “imperative”
Washington -- The United States is encouraging Kenyan leaders to resume talks aimed at creating a power-sharing Cabinet and a coalition government, say senior U.S. officials.
"The United States and the entire international community stand ready to assist the coalition government and to help ensure that the provisions of the February 28 political accord are fully respected," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says. President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga agreed to create a power-sharing Cabinet, which is central to the creation of a coalition government.
The political negotiations followed several months of civil strife and violence after faulty presidential elections December 27, 2007. A negotiating team led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan worked for weeks to get Kibaki and Odinga to reach the accord, announced in February.
"Both emphasized to me their strong commitment to do so," Rice said in a prepared statement April 8. "It is imperative that they form the Cabinet without further delay and address the vitally important work of the nation."
Talks between the political parties of Kibaki and Odinga were suspended April 8 and some civil protests have ensued. However, opposition leader Odinga told the Associated Press that "talks have not collapsed, but have just been adjourned," after protests began in Kibera, outside Nairobi.
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told Reuters that he expects Kibaki and Odinga to reach an agreement on the composition of the Cabinet in a matter of days, or within a week. "We remain confident that President Kibaki and Raila Odinga will reach agreement on the composition of the Cabinet. They are very close," he said.
Rice said that she had spoken separately to Kibaki and Odinga on April 7 to "urge them to implement a real power sharing by agreeing on the composition of their coalition Cabinet. Both emphasized to me their strong commitment to do so."
Western representatives said in a joint statement that genuine power sharing will restore the faith of the Kenyan people and that of Kenya's development partners in the new government.
