VOA标准英语2009年-Tensions Threaten Kenya's Fragile Coalition Gov

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is said to be in crisis talks with key leaders in his Orange Democratic Movement political party to assess whether he and the ODM, as the party is widely known, are being deliberately 4 sidelined by President Kibaki and his Party of National Unity 5 or PNU.

High-ranking ODM officials have publicly complained about several decisions announced by Mr. Kibaki and his allies in government in recent weeks. ODM says the decisions were made unilaterally and have had the perceived effect of diminishing the role of the prime minister in the coalition government.

One such decision involved the appointment of a 38-member transition team at Kenya's discredited 6 and recently-disbanded electoral commission.

ODM officials say they were shocked to learn that the head of Kenya's Civil Service office and presidential ally, Francis Muthaura, had named several electoral commission employees who oversaw 7 Kenya's disputed December 27 presidential poll to be on the transition team.
　






In this 12 Dec 2008 file photo, Kenyan Pres. Mwai Kibaki delivers a speech to the nation in Nairobi

It was the commission's announcement declaring incumbent 8 Mwai Kibaki the winner over Raila Odinga that triggered nearly two months of unprecedented 9 violence and tit-for-tat ethnic 10 fighting across the country.

To end the blood-letting, the two political rivals agreed to a peace deal mediated 11 by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, and in April announced the details of a power-sharing government that included the creation of a prime minister's post.

Nairobi-based political analyst 12 Barrack Muluka says even at that time he and other analysts 13 observed troubling moves by President Kibaki to protect his power base.

"President Kibaki went on to retain an office in government, which seems to be parallel to that of the prime minister - that is the office of the head of the civil service, who many times has been seen to be working on behalf of the president," he said.

The growing rift 14 between ODM and PNU reached a crisis point Friday when President Kibaki signed into law a media bill that has been condemned 15 by journalists and human rights groups as a move to muzzle 16 the media.

The law, if implemented 17, gives the government broad powers, including the right to raid media offices, wiretap journalists and control broadcast content and restrict licenses 18.

Prime Minister Odinga, who vehemently 19 opposed the bill, says he had been given assurances by President Kibaki that it would not be signed into law. One Kenyan newspaper described the president's unilateral action as a slap in the face for Mr. Odinga.

ODM officials say despite the current crisis, they are not about to pull out of the coalition or call for its dissolution. But analysts say they fear the renewed political bickering 20 could lead to more violence and instability in Kenya.