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Kenyan MPs poised for stand-off Kenyan MPs poised for stand-off
(about 1 hour later)
Parliament in Kenya meets later for the first time since disputed elections in December amid fears of clashes between government and opposition supporters. Parliament in Kenya meets shortly for the first time since disputed elections last month, amid fears of clashes between government and opposition.
Opposition leaders say their MPs will try to sit on the government benches. Tight security is in force in the capital, Nairobi, with soldiers deployed around the parliament building and some roads closed.
Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement became the largest party in parliament, though it does not have an absolute majority. The opposition says the presidential election was rigged, and that it will try to sit on the government benches.
Mr Odinga lost the presidential vote, a defeat he blames on poll fraud. About 600 people have died in unrest since. More than 600 people were killed in unrest following the 27 December polls.
Mass rallies
About 250,000 people also fled or were driven from their homes in a country once seen as a beacon of relative stability in East Africa.About 250,000 people also fled or were driven from their homes in a country once seen as a beacon of relative stability in East Africa.
Mr Odinga's ODM is planning another three days of consecutive mass rallies around Kenya this week, beginning on Wednesday. The BBC's Adam Mynott, reporting from Nairobi, says the level of violence in Kenya has fallen significantly, but that tension remains very high.
President Mwai Kibaki is due to open the first session of the new parliament. The opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is planning another three days of consecutive mass rallies around Kenya this week, beginning on Wednesday.
As well as anticipating acrimony if ODM legislators go ahead with their threat to occupy seats on the government's side of the house, analysts also predict tensions over the election of a speaker and deputy speaker. The ODM became the largest party in parliament, though it does not have an absolute majority.
But opposition leader Raila Odinga was declared to have lost the presidential election to the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki - a result which Mr Odinga rejected.
EU election observers also expressed serious concern over the fairness of the election, and the EU's top aid official, development commissioner Louis Michel, warned that aid to Kenya might be reduced "if we see that the election has not been fully respected".
Mass rallies
The swearing-in may see Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga in the same room for the first time since the election.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of parliament resuming, ODM MP Najib Balala said the party was still pressing for a new election.
"It's going to be very exciting to see an illegitimate government being told on their face that they have lost the election and they're going to lose their arm of legislature," he said.
"We want to prove to the world we are not going to act in an uncivilised way, we are going to parliament, we are going to show that we are controlling parliament."
But Justice Minister Martha Karua told the BBC she believed cooler heads would prevail.
"We are ready to navigate through a hung parliament through persuasion, through negotiations.
"We hope and we expect that eventually everybody will come to their senses, realise that we've got to learn to live with each other.
A key issue will be the election of a speaker - the third most powerful person in the country, after the president and vice-president.
No one party has the necessary two-thirds majority to ensure the election of its candidates, and intense lobbying is expected.No one party has the necessary two-thirds majority to ensure the election of its candidates, and intense lobbying is expected.
An ODM member, William Ruto, denied in an interview for the Daily Nation newspaper that, by attending parliament, the opposition was recognising the election results de facto.
"We are not going to sit back and allow them to install a speaker who will pave the way for the illegitimacy to continue," he said.
Annan 'uninvited'Annan 'uninvited'
Former UN chief Kofi Annan is due to arrive on Tuesday in a bid to bring about negotiations between Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga. The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, and US envoy Jendayi Frazer have also tried to intervene. Former UN chief Kofi Annan is due to arrive later on Tuesday at the head of an African mediation team in a bid to bring about negotiations between Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga.
Mr Annan has said he expects all sides to work hard for a solutionMr Annan has said he expects all sides to work hard for a solution
However, hardline cabinet minister John Michuki played down the visit.However, hardline cabinet minister John Michuki played down the visit.
"If Kofi Annan is coming, he is not coming at our invitation," he told journalists on Monday."If Kofi Annan is coming, he is not coming at our invitation," he told journalists on Monday.
"As far as we are concerned, we won an election.""As far as we are concerned, we won an election."
EU election observers have raised serious concern over the fairness of the election, saying "the accuracy of the result is in doubt". But Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula welcomed the visit.
Development Commissioner Louis Michel, the EU's top aid official, said on Monday aid to Kenya might be reduced "if we see that the election has not been fully respected". "It was agreed by both the government and the ODM that Mr Annan, along with the other three eminent personalities, facilitate dialogue between the two sides, and we are looking forward to their arrival, he said.
Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, another EU official said that if Mr Annan's mediation failed, Brussels would consider its options, including the possibilities of sanctions and of suspending aid.