ARE THESE WORKABLE DEMANDS?

As Annan's team get their documents and modalities together, A top officer in the team is said to have said that a number of issues had been presented for consideration, among them the issue of leadership in the country.

Kibaki and his reconciliation team led by Kalonzo Musyoka are understood to have, among others, stated that ODM ought to recognise that "the Head of State was the duly elected President and that a legitimately constituted Government was in place". They also want ODM leaders, who they accuse of being behind the violence, to publicly condemn the killings and urge their supporters to end the chaos.

The Kibaki team further questioned the failure by their rivals to move to court to challenge the President’s re-election and has proposed to the mediators that only the courts of law can declare that the President was in office illegitimately. In addition, they have ruled out a power-sharing deal and a rerun of the Presidential elections.

ODM have demanded that Kibaki accept that he lost to Raila in the elections.

Once that is out of the way, they have proposed that President Kibaki resigns to pave way for a rerun of the presidential elections.

Their last option involves an interim government where they would share power in line with a formula to be determined by each party’s strength in Parliament as they await for fresh elections.

However, Mr Mudavadi said that ODM was ready to make hard decisions that would end the violence that he said has now assumed new dimensions. “We have stated that we are committed to finding a peaceful solution, which means that we are prepared to make hard decisions,” he said.

ODM also demanded that ODM- Kenya, whose leader is the Mr. kalonzo musyoka, be excluded from the talks since the crisis mediation is about the Dec.2007 election outcome.

ODM secretary-general Anyang’ Nyong’o stated that the negotiations are between PNU and ODM only. “We are negotiating with PNU whose leader is Mwai Kibaki. Kalonzo Musyoka is the head of ODM-K and whatever arrangements he has with PNU, are his own. The election crisis is between ODM and PNU,” he said.

He said ODM want Mr Kibaki to ensure that Mr Musyoka does not get close to the negotiations table with ODM because he has no stake in the dispute.

“Anybody naming a coalition team must confine it to the two parties. We want to negotiate with the principals and not surrogates. Kalonzo must realise that,” he further said.

Mr. musyoka heads the reconciliation team appointed by Mr. kibaki and co. that includes Cabinet ministers Martha Karua, George Saitoti, Moses Wetangula, Samuel Poghisio, Ali Chirau Mwakwere, Attorney General Amos Wako and Mbooni MP Mutula Kilonzo.