Kenya Update: Proper Solution?

President Mwai Kibaki, "the power-sharing deal would lay the foundations for peace and stability in our country." This comes after hundreds of people had been slain over elections that had the opposition to the newly elected president up in arms. To quell the riots that broke out, a prime minister role will be created for the opposition party. An article covers some details:

"More than 1,000 people have died and a half-million others were displaced after clashes erupted in the country previously considered one of Africa's most stable. Several pieces of legislation are required to implement the power-sharing deal, including a constitutional amendment to entrench several new positions. Under the deal, Odinga will move into the new post of prime minister, giving him the power to co-ordinate and supervise the government. After the proposed bills were introduced Thursday, debate was scheduled to begin Tuesday followed by a vote. If passed, the laws could be put in place that week."

As the international community now may see a potentially disastrous issue close we can begin to analyze the situation. Many observers feel that officials actually fueled the original riots that ensued, causing hundreds of deaths. I found this interesting because the opposition may have used the populace to make their own gains. Seeing that they had lost the election which many considered false, the opposition may have made a strategic move on their part, creating an internal problem that the government could not ignore. With what many considered a stable country, the riots were used as a tool to create a position to share power within the government. Of course the stop of riots and destruction within the country was a critical issue and needed to be solved. Perhaps the elections were false, but why was there no secondary elections announced? This would have easily solved the situation allowing a proper election to be conducted.

This obviously points to some critical issues within Kenya's government. Now we see government officials becoming corrupt to control their various stakes in the country. This country is dealing with a structure of government that seems to have a hold over it's populace as their voice is ignored. The international community did help to try and resolve the situation and now a solution has been created. I think this was an important development that the world should watch out for. The entire situation from the beginning of elections to now has shown how quickly a stable country can fall apart. While there is not much any outside actors can do, the international community should keep notice of developments such as Kenya's so that we may have a better basis on how to deal with a situation like this in the future.