Political Crisis in Somalia Raises Security Risk For Region
May 01 2021, 6:46 PM
May 01 2021, 2:30 PM
May 01 2021, 6:46 PM
(Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg)
Delayed elections in Somalia amid political infighting has enabled al-Qaeda-linked militants to make gains in an insurgency, raising the threat of insecurity in eastern Africa.
The group, known as al-Shabaab, has taken advantage of the impasse and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia to recruit fighters, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Authorities have thwarted some attacks but there is concern in the government that raids could increase in Somalia and neighboring countries, the people said, asking not to be identified because they arenât authorized to comment publicly.
Somalia’s lower house of parliament has voted unanimously to restore an agreement reached last year that will allow the country to hold indirect elections.
Last month, the parliament had voted to extend President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s term by two years and for the country to hold its future polls under a one-person-one-vote system.
The move, however, was rejected by the senate, prime minister, opposition leaders and four of the country’s six federal member states, leading to a standoff in the capital, Mogadishu.
On Saturday, Speaker Mohamed Mursal said 140 MPs had voted to reinstate indirect polls – whereby special delegates chosen by Somalia’s clan elders pick lawmakers who in turn choose the president – based on the September 2020 agreement, with no lawmakers expressing any objection.
MOGADISHU, Somalia - The controversial two-year term extension for Somalia’s president evaporated Saturday after intense public pressure, as the lower house of parliament approved his request to instead support efforts to organize the country’s long-delayed national election.
Saturday, 1 May, 2021 - 17:45
Somalia s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed asked his prime minister on Saturday to organize elections as soon as possible. (AFP) Asharq Al-Awsat
Somalia s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed asked his prime minister on Saturday to organize elections as soon as possible in a move that seeks to calm the country s worst political crisis in years.
In a brief speech before parliament that was broadcast live, Farmajo, as the president is nicknamed, abandoned a policy voted earlier in the month that extended his term in office by two years. We have decided to seek the solution through negotiations and to avoid starting violence in the benefit of those who trade on the blood of the public, he said.