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Prime minister-designate Raila Odinga has told the BBC his priority will be to rebuild Kenya after a deal to end the two-month political crisis.
He pledged to help those who had been displaced, lost their property or lost their jobs during the violence in which some 1,500 people died.
Many Kenyans have been celebrating the power-sharing deal between Mr Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki.
But some of those displaced question whether ethnic hatreds can be healed.
"It's become a habit of saying 'peace, peace, peace' every now and then and after peace we see flames of fire," a woman living in a displacement camp in the western town of Eldoret told the BBC.
But in nearby Kisumu, Mr Odinga's home town, thousands of dancing and cheering people poured onto the streets to celebrate the deal brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Mr Odinga also pledged to reconcile Kenyans, after the violence took on an ethnic dimension, forcing some 600,000 from their homes.
"You have seen the ugly face of ethnic confrontation in our country. I feel confident that the experience we have gone through has been a teacher and everyone is going to ensure that this coalition does succeed," he told the BBC's Today programme.
Negotiations between the government and opposition, which lasted more than a month, stalling several times, are to resume on Friday morning to discuss long-term reform of land ownership, the economy and the constitution.
'Historical injustices'
Mr Odinga said the agreement was "just a piece of paper" - the most important thing was the will behind it.
"It means we recognise Mr Kibaki as president and he recognises that there were some flaws in the elections," he told the BBC.
And, he said, the coalition had a lot of work to do - constitutional and legal reforms as well as land reforms to address "historical injustices".
"There has be to be trust and confidence developed on both sides. It is important for us to forge a firm foundation for a united country," he said.
He hoped for a new constitution within a year and fresh elections within two as Mr Annan had given the coalition a maximum life of two years, after which it should be reviewed.
Compromise
The new coalition will be headed by President Kibaki, with Mr Odinga - whose Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is the largest in parliament - set to take the newly created post of prime minister.
Each party will nominate a deputy prime minister, with other ministerial portfolios being divided equally between the two parties.
Correspondents say both parties are now likely to begin wrangling over who gets what position in the new government, with the post of finance minister likely to prove the most contentious.
After the deal was reached, Mr Annan said: "Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country."
He urged all Kenyans to support the agreement, saying: "The job of national reconciliation and national reconstruction is not for the leaders alone. It must be carried out in every neighbourhood, village, hamlet of the nation."
Speaking after the signing, Mr Kibaki said: "This process has reminded us that as a nation there are more issues that unite than that divide us.
"We've been reminded we must do all in our power to safeguard the peace that is the foundation of our national unity... Kenya has room for all of us."
Both men thanked those who had stood by Kenya in what Mr Odinga called its "hour of need", including Mr Annan, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the UN.
Source: BBC
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