After consultations with Kofi Annan, the ODM leader Mr Raila Odinga announced today that he was calling off all public demonstrations and rallies until further notice to allow for continued discussions between the mediators and the principals.

President Kibaki was reported to have confirmed his willingness to accept a power-sharing arrangement and a coalition government but required this to be within the provisions of the current constitution.

The Chairman of the African Union, President Kikwete of Tanzania, arrived in Nairobi yesterday to lend his support to the mediation process. Today he met both President Kibaki and Hon Odinga as well as holding a briefing meeting with Kofi Annan. President Kikwete has indicated that he will stay on in Kenya until tomorrow and stated that he was hopeful that it was possible to bridge the gap between the two sides, appealing to the politicians to come to an agreement as soon as possible.

The Mayor of Nairobi was sworn in today, in spite of a tie in the mayoral election, as both sides agreed to his appointment under a power-sharing arrangement which caused observers to suggest that this could set a good example to the political leadership.

SECURITY SITUATION IN KENYA:
The security situation throughout Kenya is calm and there were no reports received today of post-election violence anywhere in the country.

The Kenya Tourism Federation has lifted its previous recommendation that tourist visitors should avoid travel to the western region of Kenya including Nyanza Province, Western Province, and the western area of Rift Valley Province. Tourist vehicles continue travelling to Lake Naivasha, through Naivasha town and onwards to Lake Nakuru National Park without experiencing any problems as the security situation on the main highways through these towns is now back to normal. However we continue to monitor the situation and in the event of any security concerns we will immediately notify tour operators so that itineraries can be altered if required.

In Nairobi it is recommended that the high density housing estates and slums should be avoided, including Eastleigh, Mathare, Huruma, and Kibera but tourists have always been advised to keep away from these areas.

As the situation returns to normal, police are now taking action, in those areas where there were previous incidents of civil unrest and ethnic clashes, to disband armed groups and to arrest persons suspected of having been involved in inciting violence.