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| Africa Horn |
| Kenyan Politicos Make Concessions |
| 2008-01-08 |
| Kenya's president and his chief rival made key concessions Monday to end their election dispute, calling off protests and agreeing to talks under pressure from the United States as the death toll from a week of violence neared 500. The top American envoy to Africa said the vote count at the heart of the dispute was tampered with and both sides could have been involved. The Dec. 27 election returned President Mwai Kibaki to power for another five-year term, with his rabble-rousing opponent, Raila Odinga, coming in a close second. But even Kenyan electoral commission chairman Samuel Kivuiti, who declared Kibaki the winner, subsequently said he is not sure Kibaki won. "Yes, there was rigging," the U.S. envoy, Jendayi Frazer, told The Associated Press in an interview in Nairobi, where she has been meeting with Kibaki and Odinga for the past three days. "I mean there were problems with the vote counting process," she added. "Both the parties could have rigged." She said she did not want to blame either Kibaki or Odinga. |
| Posted by:Fred |