Somalia s government announced on Thursday that delayed elections would be held within 60 days, following months of deadlock over the vote that erupted into violence in the troubled country.
In mid-April, the two-year extension mandate of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo expired on February 8 without elections being held, leading to violent clashes in the capital.
In early May, Farmajo had tasked Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein to oversee that elections were held as soon as possible.
The PM called for a meeting of all political leaders last Saturday where they all agreed to hold elections within the next 60 days. The national consultative forum agreed that the elections will be held within 60 days, Abdirahman Yusuf, deputy minister of information reading the communiqué.
May 3, 2021 Share
Somalia’s lawmakers have voted to cancel a presidential term extension they had approved last month in an action that might end a political stand-off.
Somalia’s lower house of Parliament reversed a 2-year extension Saturday for its term and that of the president to ease internal and international pressure that urged it to back away from the controversial resolution passed on April 12.
The Parliament responding to a request by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, nicknamed Farmajo, asking lawmakers to restore last year’s agreement between the federal government and the leaders of five federal member states and the governor of Mogadishu has unanimously voted for the reversal. The move could help to defuse an armed stand-off in capital city Mogadishu.
In light of recent violent clashes between government troops and opposition factions on the streets of the Somalian capital of Mogadishu, Somalia senior analyst at International Crisis Group (ICG) Omar Mahmood describes the situation in the country as a worrying development .
The rival sides exchanged gunfire on Sunday in an eruption of long-simmering tensions sparked by the delay of February elections and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed s extension of his mandate earlier this month. It s reminiscent of the lead-up to Somalia s clan conflicts 30 years ago, Mahmood says.
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.
Somali PM urges civilians to go home as Mogadishu tensions ease
By AFP - Apr 29,2021 - Last updated at Apr 29,2021
People hold posters of Somalia s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed during the protest against him in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday (AFP photo)
MOGADISHU Somalia s government on Wednesday urged people who had fled violence in the capital to return home, as tensions eased after the president called for elections and renewed dialogue with his political rivals.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced he would seek parliament s approval for fresh elections, appearing to abandon a two-year extension to his mandate that ignited the country s worst political violence in years.