Kenya's feuding political factions agree that a negotiated political settlement is needed to solve the crisis that erupted after a disputed December election, chief mediator Kofi Annan said Friday.
"We are all agreed that a political settlement is needed, that a political settlement is necessary and we are working out the details of such a settlement," the former United Nations chief told reporters. "Issues are still on the table and we will go back to them on Monday," he said after meeting President Mwai Kibaki and opposition rival Raila Odinga.
Odinga charges that Kibaki stole the December 27 presidential election. The dispute ignited nation-wide violence that left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced at least 300,000. The government had previously maintained a hard line, arguing that if the opposition wanted to challenge the results of the ballot, it would have to do so through the courts. International observers have voiced concern over flaws in the tallying.
When queried about media reports that the opposition had agreed to join Kibaki's party in a government alliance, Annan replied that whoever made that claim "was jumping the gun".