Countless formulas have been suggested, proposing paths that may eventually bring us the peace we so desperately want. Some have put forward that there be a presidential vote recount and others a fresh tally of the vote count. These are solid suggestions, but they are not without their flaws and bear the hazard that their results may prove just as inconclusive as our present situation. This is especially so because absent guarantees to the integrity of such votes or the electoral forms, it is doubtful that any faith can be held in them.

Others have suggested that the ODM and Raila Odinga should take to the Courts, filing an electoral petition for the denunciation of the elections results. Odinga and the ODM allege that the judicial route is not a viable one because the courts are stacked against them, with the majority of the officers of the judiciary being appointees of the President. Whilst I find that this is the ideal solution, as it allows the ODM's grievances an objective and public hearing, it appears that those proposing this solution are not determined in their proposal or in ensuring that the ODM's fear of the courts is assuaged. So no one it seems is taking this means at all seriously.

What seems to be the centre of attention is the suggested creation of a Government of National Unity or a Coalition Government, where power is shared by the various political parties. This, it is hoped, will help calm the parties that see themselves as having been swindled at the elections, and as a result quell the riots and pacify the fires of anger and hatred.

But is this the right solution? While it is true that each one of us is at the moment shocked beyond belief at the carnage and the brutal murders fuelled by the hatred against specific ethnicities, there is the danger that in our rush to solve the immediate crisis, our state of shock renders us insufficiently objective to create sustainable solutions. The attempts at joint government are exactly such a decision, sentimental and comprising, but likely unsustainable.

One of the reasons for this suggestion is the fact that the electorate appears evenly split between the two main sides. It is also worth mentioning that each group did get 25% support in five provinces, which fact establishes that a substantial minority supports the opposing grouping even where the other dominates. Democracy as we know it, insists that the majority will, as expressed at the election and as per the requirements of the constitution, prevails. It is then expected that this majority is able, while respecting the inalienable rights of the minority and watching all the time not to push too far, imposes its wishes on the nation.

Having said that it is clear that any democratic integrity the election results could have gone towards achieving has long disappeared. The entrenched positions of our present scenario bring us to question the workability of our entire democratic experiment with neither side looking to either accept defeat, or play the part of an honourable victor. The result of this deadlock is that the two divides are lost from the intended path, and their followers and the entire nation cast into a furnace where the ever present but ‘subdued and underlying' ethnic hatred is sparked into the conflagration we now witness.

So it is that creating a Government of National Unity or a Coalition Government is merely cosmetic and fails to address the underlying defects in our political system. It follows that such an amalgamation of the will of a divided nation into a joint body of governance may not after all bring about the desired satisfaction of all concerened. While offering the appearance of a victory for everyone, this compromise also refuses to address the very reasons why these groups were formed as they were, or indeed why many in our present situation feel so strongly that they are disenfranchised.

Apart from the fact that such a government would be a band-aid solution to what is a very serious problem, it also bears the alternative threat of destroying our fledgling attempt at building a multi-party democracy, heralding instead the possible return to the good old days of KANU's one party rule. The determination with which Kenyans shook off those bonds cannot be taken for granted, especially as our politicians are not exactly averse to coming together to fashion pacts that benefit the political class but hurt everyone else.

The ODM's Raila Odinga has suggested a halfway solution, a caretaker government whose main purpose will be to prepare the nation for fresh elections in three months. Fresh elections are necessary, but to make the process more affordable, we may need to restrict ourselves (against the will of such politicians as Uhuru Kenyatta) to the presidential election, leaving out parliamentary and civic ones. President Kibaki on his part appears ready to talk although what parameters these talks will extend to remains to be seen.

But what remains to be understood is what specifically Raila Odinga has in mind when he suggests a caretaker government. Its  imagined composition (numbers and positions) has not been made clear and is likely to be the topic of greatest interest this coming week.  This discussion and the consideration among the political class will not just revolve about matters of makeup, but also the  subsequent ramifications on our multi-party democracy and on distribution across the ethnic divide. President Kibaki and the PNU hold many of the cards, but in negotiation, they will want to look to give the ODM and Raila Odinga an opportunity to leave the table with their pride intact, for the sake of the nation.