By Prensa Latina
Nairobi : The post-electoral disputes in Kenya continue Thursday, with each side sticking to irreconciliable positions during a new meeting between government and opposition representatives mediated by African notables.
The Orange Democratic Movement of opposition leader Raila Odinga repeated its demands for new elections and a transition cabinet, but this time did not demand the immediate ouster of sitting President Emilio Mwai Kibaki, thus leaving an open window in conversations.
Government negotiators deem it necessary to establish a legal and institutional reform process, and refused to consider new elections as a solution to the conflict.
Mediators include former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Tanzanian former President Benjamin Mkapa and South African former First Lady Graca Machel.
The situation originated when opposition forces declared the reelection of Kibaki on December 27 the result of fraud.
Violence between the parties since has left almost 1,000 dead and displaced nearly 300,000, 12,000 of whom are in Uganda and 52,000 in Tanzania, while armed groups proliferate.
Economically, the crisis has paralyzed foreign investments, and the Central Bank of Kenya recommended that the government change its policies.
The US Embassy in Nairobi denied that 10 Kenyan legislators and their families entered the United States, a measure also affecting a group of entrepreneurs suspected of involvement in the violence.