Kenya MPs support power-sharing

Both Mr Kibaki (l) and Mr Odinga (r) have been upbeat about the future

Kenyan MPs have approved unanimously bills needed to enact a power-sharing deal between President Mwai Kibaki and rival Raila Odinga.

President Kibaki is expected to appoint a cabinet with Mr Odinga as the prime minister within days.

A political deal was reached after violence erupted following December's disputed elections.

Some 1,500 died and 600,000 people were displaced during the violence and many thousands still haven't gone homes.

The constitutional changes will bring the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) into a grand coalition.

Haste

The constitutional amendment bill creates the post of prime minister and two deputies.

The National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which was also approved, states that the coalition stands dissolved if one party decides not to participate in the arrangement.

It however does not provide for the holding of a fresh election in the event that the coalition collapses.

During the debate, a succession of Kenyan MPs stood up to heap praise on President Kibaki and Mr Odinga for their statesmanlike behaviour - a sharp contrast to accusations being made about the two leaders a few weeks earlier.

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The legal changes will be greeted with a huge sense of relief by millions of Kenyans.

Under the deal, President Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) and the ODM will share power on a 50-50 basis.

Analysts argue that the composition of the new cabinet will be a key indicator of how the grand coalition will work.

Both parties have also agreed to form a commission of international experts to probe events during the elections.

President Kibaki last week appointed former South African Judge, Johann Kreigler to head the probe team.

The experts will be sworn in this week and are expected to complete their investigations in three months.