Nairobi — The Opposition party said Tuesday it is opposed to the holding of a meeting to be attended by Foreign Affairs ministers from member countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (Igad) in Nairobi on Friday.

ODM secretary-general, Prof Anyang Nyong'o warned that the party will mobilise its supporters to protest against President Kibaki's Government hosting the meeting while the political impasse occasioned by the disputed presidential election remains unresolved.

But Mr Kofi Annan, the chief mediator in the political crisis, warned against the protests, saying they will be an act of provocation.

Speaking on phone, a Foreign Affairs ministry official said Kenya had been chosen to host the regional meeting which will be attended by ministers from the Igad member states of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti.

Earlier, while addressing journalists at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, ODM MPs led by their chairman Henry Kosgey, said they will mobilise their supporters to hold a peaceful demonstration.

In a statement read by Prof Nyong'o, the MPs said they were against President Kibaki hosting the meeting in Nairobi while mediators, led by Mr Annan, were working to resolve the political crisis.

President Kibaki is the current chairman of the Igad Heads of State summit.

When contacted on phone, the ODM secretary-general said: "As a party, ODM is against Kenya hosting such a regional meeting while the country is gripped by a political crisis." The MPs said they saw the convening of the meeting in the middle of the current political crisis as an attempt to spite their party.

"That is why we plan to mobilise our supporters to hold a peaceful demonstration against President Kibaki's Government hosting the meeting," they said.

Mr Annan said his team had discussed the matter and agreed that there would be no street protests while the mediation process was on course.

"We have discussed it (street protests) and it is clear that there would be no mass action," he said.

He stated that the issue of engaging in provocative activities had been dealt with at length and all parties in the talks had agreed to steer clear of them.

"We demanded that both parties avoid provocation and that issues taking place in our sessions should not be discussed outside out talking table," he said.

Asked whether President Kibaki was overstepping his mandate by inviting Igad ministers, Mr Annan said that the Head of State could call any meetings in as long as they were not aimed at mediating in the country's crisis.

"President Kibaki is free to invite whoever he wants. They are not here to mediate. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one mediation going on and it has the support of the UN, US, European Union and African Union," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kosgey has asked the Government to provide security to all ODM MPs following the recent killings of Embakasi MP Melitus Were and his Ainamoi counterpart David Kimutai.