GOVERNMENT CHALLENGES CRITICS
Kenya's political crisis has jeopardised its democratic credentials, angered donors, driven away tourists and hurt one of Africa's most promising economies.
Fuelling doubt over Kibaki's win - officially by 230,000 of 10 million votes cast - a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday it was impossible to know who won the presidency.
"We have done our own analysis. What it shows is that the result was extremely close and that whoever won probably won with no more than 100,000 votes at the most," Washington's ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, told the Daily Nation.
"It is really not possible to say with certainty who won because the process was not transparent." But he called for power-sharing rather than a new vote or re-count.
Kibaki has solidified his position by naming the core of a new cabinet and convening parliament. But the opposition got a boost by winning the post of speaker in the assembly on Tuesday.
"Yesterday marked a turning point," Odinga told reporters. "The terrible wrong done Kenyans on 27th of December will not be able to stand. This is an illegitimate presidency."
ODM has the most legislators of any party, but does not have enough to win a no-confidence vote unless parties allied to Kibaki join it. Underscoring its narrow edge in parliament, ODM's choice for speaker won by just four votes.
Odinga and other opposition leaders headed in a convoy towards Nairobi's central Uhuru Park, ringed by riot police to prevent protests. Some of the leaders were tear gassed.
The United States and 12 other nations threatened to pull direct aid if the government's commitment to "good governance, democracy, the rule of law and human rights weakens".
But the government challenged critics to show proof.
"You have publicly claimed that the presidential results were flawed. Can you provide tangible evidence?" said a state advert in local media.
The opposition also stands accused of rigging and ballot-stuffing in its own heartlands during the polls.
