By C. Bryson Hull
The opposition has threatened more street protests if the government holds Thursday's planned meeting of the seven-nation, regional bloc IGAD, whose rotating chairmanship is now held by President Mwai Kibaki.
IGAD issued a communique last week that backed that position, while supporting the talks. The opposition argues that Kenya's institutions are too flawed or biased to do the job.
For a second day, he pushed the two sides to focus on the election dispute. The opposition says Kibaki stole the vote and does not recognise him as the victor, while the government says he was legally elected and the opposition should make it challenge in court.
On Wednesday, the Central Bank said Kenya's economic growth was unlikely to reach its forecast of 8 percent because of damage to the $1-billion (500 million pound) -a-year tourism sector and others.
The Kenya Tourist Board said arrivals for the first quarter would be 27,000 visitors, less than a tenth of its pre-election prediction of 315,000.
The violence has laid bare divisions over land, wealth and power that date from colonial rule and have since been stoked by politicians.
Despite pledges by both sides to avoid provocative statements while Annan's talks were in progress, opposition leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) again used its strongest bargaining chip -- a threat of street protests.
The government has banned protests and most previous ones have ended in violence, looting or rioting.
Its attempts to get into the AU meeting failed, despite what diplomats say was heavyweight backing by South Africa.
The government views that as an insult to Kenya's sovereignty and points to the fact that Kibaki himself went to court in 1997 when he lost what he said was a rigged election.
(Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri, Helen Nyambura-Mwaura, George Obulutsa and Wangui Kanina in Nairobi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Andrew Dobbie)