(4 minutes read)
· Somalia’s government announced yesterday (Thursday) that the elections would be held within 60 days. This follows 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
· Non holding of elections led to clashes and other types of disturbances
Somalia’s government announced yesterday (Thursday) that the elections would be held within 60 days. This follows 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. Non holding of elections led to clashes and other types of disturbances.
Farmajo had tasked Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein to oversee that elections were held as soon as possible in early May. Subsequently, the PM called for a meeting of all political leaders recently, wherein they all agreed to hold elections within the next 60 days.
Abdirahman Yusuf, deputy minister of information said that the exact dates of election would be determined by the committee in charge of organizing the elections. Somalia uses an indirect electoral system where special delegates nominated by clan head select parliamentarians, who in turn nominate the president.
The government and the country’s five semi-autonomous states reached an agreement on September 17 to hold elections before the end of Farmajo’s term under the indirect system. As reported by www.trendsnafrica.com the process was not completed because the federal government and the leaders of the states of Puntland and Jubaland could not agree on how to organize the elections. President Farmajo’s election in 2017 had raised high hopes among the population, who saw him as a leader committed to fighting corruption and determined to combat the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia. However, the extension of his term was seen by many as a way to cling on to power.
