By Duncan Miriri and Daniel Wallis
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Negotiators for Kenya's politicalrivals broke off talks on the post-election crisis for theweekend on Friday despite growing local and international callsfor a quick deal.
With negotiations now hinging on the details of a new primeminister's post to be offered to opposition leader Raila Odingain a power-sharing agreement with President Mwai Kibaki, thetwo sides said they would resume on Monday.
"While we made some progress today ... the parties feltthere were still some issues on which they needed to consulttheir principals," said disappointed mediator Kofi Annan.
The former U.N. boss urged Kibaki and Odinga to makedecisions and communicate them to negotiators so that asettlement can be urgently reached when talks re-start.
"Many thought the white smoke would emerge from ourdiscussions today," said Annan, who has become a celebrity inKenya for his efforts to end the post-election crisis that haskilled 1,000 people and made more than 300,000 homeless.
"We must give the Kenyan people what they are hoping andpraying for. They have suffered greatly."
Adding to the diplomatic pressure, Africa's top diplomatJean Ping spent Friday in Kenya to back the mediation.
The government agreed in principle this week to create thepremier's post, but the sticking point is how much power thatposition will command. Local media, civil groups, businessleaders and clerics have all been pleading for a settlement.
"We hope that next week we'll have something which can beagreed," Ping, the newly elected African Union Commissionchairman, told reporters.
PROTEST THREAT
The opposition wants a powerful role as executive premierfor Odinga, who accuses Kibaki of rigging the December 27 poll.
Kibaki's team says he won fairly and accuses the oppositionof instigating riots and ethnic violence that wrecked Kenya'simage as a stable business, tourism and transport hub.
Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has withdrawn anearlier call for Kibaki to resign, but is threatening to resumestreet protests if its demands are not met.
"If by Wednesday ... no tangible outcome is achieved fromthe mediation process, party members are hereby called upon toprepare for immediate mass civil disobedience," ODM member ofparliament Ababu Namwamba told a news conference.
The government has predicted a settlement in days.
Pressure has grown on both sides of the political divide toreach a lasting deal to end turmoil that has horrified locals,neighbouring states and world powers alike.
"The most effective way to get these issues solved is forthe leaders to feel pressure from their own people," U.S.President George W. Bush said on his way home from an Africatour where the crisis was on high on the agenda.
"We'll help. We send people over and we'll stay engaged."
Odinga left Kenya on Friday on a private trip to Nigeria,but that was not expected to have a bearing on the talks. Hetold local radio there he was just visiting friends.
Although the east African nation has been relatively calmfor two weeks, the ODM protests ultimatum has stoked fears of aresumption of the post-election bloodshed.
Earlier demonstrations often descended into looting andtribal attacks, and were met with a tough police response.
The crisis has laid bare issues of land, ethnicity, wealthand power that have plagued Kenya since British colonial rule,and have often been exploited by politicians since then.
(Additional reporting by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and WanguiKanina, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
(For special coverage from Reuters on Kenya's crisis see:http://africa.reuters.com/elections/kenya/)
