Kenya's parliament has rejected a plan to establish a special court to try suspects from last year's post-election violence, which left at least 1,300 people dead.
Late last year, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed a deal paving the way for a special tribunal to prosecute suspected perpetrators behind the deadly clashes that erupted after the December 2007 elections.
The deal required parliament to approve a constitutional amendment. But Thursday's vote in parliament fell short of the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution and create the court.
Opponents of the measure indicated they feared a special tribunal would be vulnerable to political manipulation.
Without a Kenya-based court, suspects may instead be tried by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
The violence that followed the 2007 elections left more the 300,000 people homeless and disrupted Kenya's economy.
The violence stemmed from the disputed presidential election between Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga. The two men eventually formed a coalition government.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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