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NAIROBI — Negotiators for Kenya's rival political parties consulted their bosses on Saturday and pored over a draft for a new prime minister's post to resolve a post-election crisis that has killed more than 1,000 people.
"The draft bill is being considered in smoke-filled rooms throughout the country," government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo told Reuters. "We should reach a deal by Wednesday latest."
Exhausted by the nearly two-month, post-election crisis, most of Kenya's 36 million people now want a quick political settlement between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga so the country can start returning to normal.
What began as a dispute over the vote count from the Dec. 27 election quickly descended into violent protests and ethnic fighting that were the east African nation's darkest moments since independence from Britain in 1963.
The unrest made more than 300,000 people homeless, damaged one of Africa's brightest economies, and dented Kenya's reputation as a stable hub for trade and tourism.
"Both the government and the opposition know all too well that a more brutal and vicious fight is likely if the peace deal being brokered by Dr. Kofi Annan's team fails," the Daily Nation said in an editorial on Saturday.
Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga's teams have agreed in principle that they will create a new prime minister's post for the opposition, which accuses the government of stealing the vote by fraud.
Mr. Kilonzo said they had come up with a draft bill that would give the prime minister –certain to be Mr. Odinga – "substantial authority" including co-ordinating the work of ministries.
"We are going to have an agreement. What we cannot afford is to do this in a panic or under duress. If we do not do it well, it will blow up in our faces," he said.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wants a powerful premiership anchored in a constitutional change, as well as a 50:50 role in government. It has raised the stakes by threatening to resume street protests if its demands are not met by Wednesday, but also expects a deal before then.
"The talks have been more positive in the last few days. The critical moment in the dialogue has come and this is a moment that should be taken," spokesman Tony Gachoka said.
While there is enormous pressure for a political deal, analysts fear such a pact among Kenya's elite may enable the politicians to ignore the deeper roots of the crisis such as land and wealth inequalities and an outdated constitution.
On the street, many Kenyans share that skepticism.
"The politicians will be all right, of course, in their country clubs and big houses. They always are, aren't they?" said Jim Magoha, an ice cream vendor in Nairobi. "How many of them know how we live, or have even seen the refugee camps?"
Mr. Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) and Mr. Odinga's ODM were coalitions built up not on any major ideological differences, but along geographical lines involving alliances between different communities and parties.
"This is all about sharing Kenya's cake. Let's not try and dress it up into anything more respectable," a diplomat said.
With violence subsiding in the last two weeks, Britain relaxed travel advice for Kenya on Saturday, lifting recommendations not to travel to west Kenya and the Rift Valley, which have seen some of the worst clashes.
However, it warned: "If you are currently in Kenya you should exercise extreme caution."
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