Washington (SD) – The United States has welcomed and encouraged President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s pledge on April 28 to return to the September 17, 2020 election agreement and resume talks with the leaders of the Federal Member States as soon as possible.
A statement from the State Department said “The United States notes President Farmaajo’s April 28 commitment to return to the September 17 election agreement and resume talks immediately with Federal Member State leaders. We call on the President and Parliament to act swiftly to annul the April 12 mandate extension bill.”
The United States welcomed and commended Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and the leaders of HirShabelle and Galmudug administrations for their opposing to the extension.
April 29, 2021 Share
Somalia’s opposition politicians have cautiously welcomed President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s move to drop a controversial two-year extension of his term in office. But questions remain on his intentions, and how the country is going to hold already-delayed elections.
Forces loyal to opposition leaders and government security agencies had clashed in Mogadishu on Sunday, injuring several people. But residents who fled their neighborhoods are returning home now that the president, commonly known as Farmajo, and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble are calling for calm.
While members of the opposition supported Farmajo’s announcement Tuesday, they remain skeptical about the next moves by the president, whose term in office expired in February.
FILE PHOTO: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, president of Somalia, attends the London Somalia Conference at Lancaster House, May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jack Hill/Pool/File Photo
MOGADISHU (Reuters) -Somalia s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said on Wednesday he would drop an attempt to extend his term by two years, bowing to domestic and international pressure after clashes in the capital Mogadishu split security forces along clan lines.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had denounced the proposed term extension and called for preparations for a new presidential election.
The president s term expired in February, but the country failed to hold elections as planned. Earlier this month, the lower house of parliament voted to extend Mohamed s four-year term by another two years. The Senate rejected the move, provoking a political crisis.
Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed called early Wednesday for elections and a return to dialogue after the extension of his mandate by two years sparked the country’s worst political violence in years.
The president, best known by his nickname Farmajo, addressed the nation at around 1:00 am local time (2200 GMT) after hours of anticipation, with Mogadishu on a knife’s edge as government troops and pro-opposition soldiers beefed up their positions and civilians fled their homes.
The rival sides exchanged gunfire on Sunday in an eruption of long-simmering tensions sparked by the delay of February elections and Farmajo’s extension of his mandate earlier this month.
Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) calls for a presidential election and a return to dialog, dropping his controversial decision to extend his own mandate.