NAIROBI, Feb 15: Former UN chief Kofi Annan said on Friday that a deal to end Kenya’s political turmoil that has caused more than 1,000 deaths was “very close” and voiced hope that the “last difficult and frightening step” would be taken next week.

Annan has been leading talks between negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to end weeks of violence since a disputed Dec 27 election.

“We are very close. We are moving steady,” Annan told a news conference.

“We are on the water’s edge and the last difficult and frightening step, as difficult as it is, will be taken.” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in Nairobi on Monday to meet with the leaders and support Annan’s mediation.

Annan said the rival parties had agreed to a broad reform agenda to review the constitution, improve electoral laws, bolster human rights, among other measures, to “address the root causes of the crisis.” But he added that “the only outstanding issue” remained the makeup of a coalition government. He said the parties were consulting with their leaders before they sit down again with Annan on Tuesday.

“In summary, we have defined the reform agenda for a new government and are now discussing the how and the mechanisms required for their implementation,” said Annan.

Kenya descended into crisis when Kibaki, 76, was declared the winner of the presidential vote, which opposition leader Odinga, 63, maintains was rigged.

Independent observers also found flaws in the vote count.

During two days of talks at a secluded safari lodge in southern Kenya, Kibaki’s camp agreed to allow opposition members into government but only under the strong executive leadership of the president, according to a government official.

The opposition has pushed for the appointment of Odinga as prime minister with full powers as head of government, a post that would require changes to the constitution.

Annan has been seeking a power-sharing deal to create a government that would pave the way for fresh elections, possibly in two years.

He said he planned to meet Kibaki and Odinga on Monday to “appeal to them to give instructions to their negotiators to really have the courage and make a deal.”

In an apparent swipe at the government, Annan asserted that there were “calculations” made that “by dragging it out I will be frustrated and will leave.” “I will stay as long as it takes to get the process at an irreversible point,” he said, adding that this would be achieved when “a new government is established.”

The sides also agreed to set up an independent review commission no later than March 15 that will investigate “all aspects” of the disputed elections and hand in a report in three to six months, said Annan.

The rival leaders have been under international pressure to make concessions, with the United States and Britain threatening visa bans, an assets freeze and other sanctions.—AFP