KENYA:Kofi Annan yesterday unveiled an agenda for constitutional and electoral reform agreed by Kenya's government and opposition, although it fell far short of the powersharing deal most believe is the only way to ensure lasting peace.
The 10-point plan also includes an independent review of December's presidential election.
It is the latest in a series of incremental steps as Mr Annan tries to keep both sides locked into negotiations.
After returning from a safari lodge where the two sides met in secret for two days, the former secretary general of the United Nations told reporters that talks would reconvene on Monday.
"Let me assure you that there is real momentum," he said. "We are at the water's edge and the last difficult and frightening step, as difficult as it is, will be taken." The Kenya Red Cross says more than 1,000 people have died since President Kibaki was sworn in for a second term.
Much of the violence has subsided, although tensions remain high in parts of the Rift Valley and the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Opposition supporters are pushing for a powersharing deal that would install their leader, Raila Odinga, as prime minister before a rerun of the election.
Meanwhile, the EU, Britain and the US have been trying to apply pressure on President Kibaki to find a compromise.
Mr Annan said he would stay in the country until he was confident that Kenya would not slide back to anarchy.
He added that the two sides had narrowed the possible arrangements for sharing power.
"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," he said.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is also due to arrive in Nairobi on Monday to bolster mediation efforts.
Observers say the absence of a powersharing deal does not mean the talks have failed. But for the time being they have helped end the violence.
Philip Ochieng, columnist with the Daily Nation newspaper, said Mr Annan was using all his diplomatic skills to keep building momentum with a series of announcements.
"To get them to talk and agree terms of reference and an agenda for reform was really something," he said.
"He has been able to do it in a piecemeal fashion, keeping both sides at the table. That holds out hope of a final deal but it's very difficult."