Kibaki faces pressure over 'rigging'

Kenya's embattled President Mwai Kibaki came under increased pressure yesterday to enter talks with the opposition leader Raila Odinga after five members of Kenya's electoral commission called for an independent inquiry into allegations of vote rigging; claims which they said were "weighty".

"We cannot remain silent under the circumstances," the commissioners said. "Like all Kenyans we are deeply affected."

Their voices added to a growing chorus within Kenya and around the world for a review of the election results. European Union election observers said the poll had failed to meet "international and regional standards", citing the use of state resources by government candidates, overwhelming bias from state-owned media, and a lack of transparency during the counting process.

Gordon Brown, who spoke with both Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga, urged the men to hold talks.

The United States, which had initially welcomed Mr Kibaki's victory, retracted its congratulations and issued a two-page statement highlighting "serious problems" including "unrealistically high voter turnout rates" and "apparent manipulation of some election reporting documents".

Mr Odinga promised to lead a "million-man march" through Nairobi tomorrow, although the police said they would not allow the rally to go ahead.

The ban on live television and radio broadcasts continued into a third day. While the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera were reporting the rising death tolls, one of the three main local channels, KTN, was showing The Sound of Music.