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Let’s think beyond coalition
government
Editorial
Saturday Nation
16. 02. 2008
The chief mediator in the ongoing talks to restore peace and order
in the country yesterday gave the clearest hint that coalition
government is the only way out of the current political stand-off.
Mr Kofi Annan was categorical that under the prevailing conditions,
all the parties must work together in a coalition government to
enact laws that allow for the desired constitutional, judicial,
political and economic reforms.
And all parties are agreed to that. What remains are the details
and the composition of the coalition government. For that reason,
ODM and PNU negotiators have undertaken to consult their party
leaders and return with concrete proposals to the negotiating
table on Tuesday. To add weight, Mr Annan wants to meet President
Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga on Monday to get their concurrence on
the proposed coalition government and also to prevail on them to
give clear instructions to their negotiators on the way forward.
Although Mr Annan did not elaborate on the proposals on the
governance structure, what is in the public domain is that ODM
wants a power-sharing deal that provides for an executive prime
minister, who is answerable to Parliament, while PNU wants a prime
minister without executive powers and who is appointed by the
President. Considering the two positions, what is sticking out is
the distribution of power and this has been the subject of public
outcry over the national leadership. Concentrating powers in one
institution, namely the presidency, is antithetical to development
of a modern state.
Whereas power sharing may be the best alternative in the
prevailing circumstances, we must not lose sight of the fact this
country is multiparty by law, the basis of which is to create
checks and balances. The proposed arrangement, therefore, should
be short-term and pave the way for a more broader and wholesome
law review that addresses all the constitutional, social,
political and economic upheavals that have dogged this nation
since independence.
Both President Kibaki and Mr Odinga must be magnanimous and
courageous in tackling the challenges ahead. The political crisis
solution is in their hands.
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