Bush urges power-sharing, Kenyans skeptical

NAIROBI (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush stepped up the pressure on Saturday for a power-sharing pact in Kenya to end a post-election crisis that has killed 1,000 people, but many Kenyans were skeptical about a quick deal.

Bush, who began a five-nation trip to Africa on Saturday, is sending his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Kenya to support mediation efforts led by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan to bring the feuding sides together.

Bush is not scheduled to visit Kenya where President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election triggered ethnically-tinged clashes that left 300,000 people homeless and hurt the country's image as one of Africa's most stable democracies.

Rice's mission to Kenya was "aimed at having a clear message that there be no violence and that there ought to be a power-sharing agreement", Bush told reporters in Benin.

Rice is due in Nairobi on Monday as Annan, who advocates a "grand coalition" to solve Kenya's troubles, meets Kibaki and his opposition rival Raila Odinga.

Washington's top Africa diplomat, Jendayi Frazer, said she believed the two men -- former allies who fell out -- understood they had to find a credible lasting solution to the dispute.

She warned that any individuals seen to be obstructing peace efforts or a power-sharing agreement may face U.S. sanctions.

Many Kenyans believe a shared government offers the best, immediate formula to resolving a dispute over who won the country's closest-ever presidential vote on December 27.

Odinga says the vote was rigged, while Kibaki maintains he won fairly.

On Friday, Annan said the two sides had agreed on a range of issues, including an independent review of the vote.

Both teams had also had "narrowed considerably" the options for a governance structure -- considered the main stumbling block in the talks -- but would consult their leaders before resuming talks on Tuesday.

While some issues had been resolved, the power-sharing deal will "take a little bit more time", a senior U.S. administration official said.

POWER-SHARING

In Nairobi, many expressed cautious optimism that the talks held in a luxury safari lodge had made progress, but others were skeptical about a breakthrough on the power-sharing terms.

"I think there's tremendous progress," said Gilbert Oswani, who works in customer care.

"Since Kofi Annan started chairing these meetings the country has calmed. But, the point here is power-sharing. The government should be 50-50."

Government officials have said this week the only power-sharing being considered is giving opposition members ministries in Kibaki's half-filled cabinet.

The government also wants constitutional and electoral law reforms, but only applicable to the next election due in 2012.

This is unlikely to satisfy the opposition, which is seeking to draft a new constitution, share power in the government and hold a new vote within two years.

"Most Kenyans are interested in peace, and it doesn't matter how it comes," said Paul Mutegi, a consultant.

"But, the two groups are interested in power and nothing else. I don't see this going very far," he added.

An attempt to overhaul the constitution to curb the president's sweeping powers and do away with a winner-takes-all system failed in 2005, when Kenyans rejected a government-backed draft that critics said ignored the desire of many to create a strong prime minister's post and other checks.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Deborah Charles in Cotonou, and Jack Kimball in Nairobi; Editing by Giles Elgood)