Somalia Leaders Agree to Hold Election Within 60 Days
Voice of America
28 May 2021, 06:35 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - Political leaders in Somalia agreed Thursday on a framework for long-delayed national elections, hoping to avert a crisis that could push the fragile Horn of Africa country into political violence.
The agreement signed by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and the leaders of five regional states laid out a path to parliamentary elections to begin within 60 days.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, following four days of talks in Mogadishu, Roble said the government is committed to implementing the agreement. My government is reassuring to the country s political stakeholders and to the Somali people that my government will hold free and fair indirect elections in line with this agreement, Roble said.
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MOGADISHU (Reuters) -Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble said he was committed to free and fair polls after he signed an agreement on Thursday with regional presidents to allow indirect elections to take place after delays had prompted a crisis.
FILE PHOTO: Somalia s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble looks on before addressing members of parliament in Mogadishu, Somalia February 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
Clan elders were meant to have selected lawmakers in December, who in turn were due to elect a new president on Feb. 8. Both procedures failed to take place, amid disputes over issues that included the composition of an election commission that would supervise the voting.
Mogadishu [Somalia], May 27 (ANI): Somalia's federal government and leaders of most of its entities announced an agreement on Thursday to hold the long-delayed national elections, heading off a crisis that had threatened widespread political violence.
Elections in Somalia are seen as key to cementing the stability of a government in Mogadishu that has only recently taken root after more than three decades of civil warfare.
Somalia averts crisis as leaders agree to hold delayed elections within months Max Bearak President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, left, attends a special assembly about his presidential term in Mogadishu on May 1. (AFP/Getty Images) NAIROBI Somalia’s federal government and leaders of most of its regional entities announced an agreement Thursday on long-delayed national elections, heading off a crisis that had threatened to return the country to widespread political violence. The agreement laid out a path to parliamentary elections to begin within 60 days, with the selection of the president to follow. The presidential selection was planned initially for early February, but disagreements about particulars first delayed the process and then led President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known by his nickname Farmajo, to postpone them for two years, allowing him to stay in office during the interim.