Kenya's peace deal faces test in parliament

Kenya's peace deal faces its first test on Thursday when it comes before the divided and unruly parliament, which must ratify the pact aimed at ending a bloody post-election crisis.

The first order of business for the new legislature after its opening by President Mwai Kibaki will be passing the laws necessary to enshrine the power-sharing agreement reached between him and opposition leader Raila Odinga last week.

The pact was designed to end turmoil after Kibaki's disputed re-election at a December 27 vote, which ignited looting, riots and politically-tinged ethnic clashes that saw more than 1,000 people killed and 300,000 people displaced.

In what became Kenya's darkest period since independence from Britain in 1963, the crisis harmed Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable nations and damaged a booming economy anchored in tourism and regional trade.

It also unveiled simmering rifts over wealth, power and tribe that have existed since the colonial era, often exacerbated by politicians angling for supremacy for their own people from among Kenya's 42 different ethnic groups.

Kibaki will formally open parliament after earlier addressing all legislators, who are evenly split between his Party of National Unity (PNU) coalition and opposition leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.

Kibaki's speech, if parliament follows its tradition, will be followed by a week of debate on the contents of his speech.

Later, both sides are due to work on a new constitution, which most expect will be put up to a referendum to try and address many of the long-held gripes underpinning the crisis.

Both sides say their legislators are committed to passing the deal, which would create a new position of prime minister to be taken by Odinga and the sharing of cabinet posts in proportion to parties' relative strength in parliament.

But analysts say the deal is only a broad agreement, and many details must be worked out - in particular, exactly what powers the prime minister would have and exactly who will get what cabinet positions.

Odinga's side wants so-called "power ministries" like finance and internal security, which Kibaki's allies are unlikely to concede. Both men appear to be under heavy pressure from their backers not to give away too much.

"Those are some of the hindrances that are going to crop up among parliamentarians," Gitau Warigi, a political commentator for the Sunday Nation newspaper, told Reuters. "They need to work fast."

Many Kenyans fear a misstep could plunge the nation back into chaos, especially with ethnic militias having re-armed in anticipation of a political solution failing.

Investors are keen to see the deal stick, eyeing prospects for further economic growth after an average annual 5 percent for the past five years. Both the shilling currency and Kenya's stock market index have strengthened since the deal.