(3minutes read)
· Somalia’s lower house of parliament voted yesterday (Monday) to extend the president’s term by two more years
· Now the resolution will be considered by the upper house
· President Farmajo welcomed parliament’s decision to return power to the Somali people
· But the opposition says that Farmaajo himself was responsible for creating this situation by having stymied negotiations over the electoral framework
Somalia’s lower house of parliament voted yesterday (Monday) to extend the president’s term by two more years. This was approved by 149 legislators of the lower house. The Parliament also directed the election commission of Somalia to hold new elections within two years. Now the resolution will be considered by the upper house.
President Farmajo welcomed parliament’s decision to return power to the Somali people. Several rounds of talks to end the impasse about the elections including the last a few days ago did not yield any results. The present incumbent’s term formally ended on February 8. The federal government has put the blame for failure of talks on polls on leaders of Puntland and Jubbaland regional governments.
The resolution mandating extension of the term of office of the president is likely to be rejected by the opposition. The opposition accused Farmajo of deliberately frustrating the election process to extend his rule. The poll deadlock, it seems, has plunged Somalia into a political crisis.
Opposition parties allege that Farmaajo’s legitimacy to continue as president is questionable since he lost popular support. His argument is that the negotiations for ending the election impasse are continuing and in the given situation, no polls should be held. He further argues that he is continuing in power to avoid a political vacuum and his tenure should be extended until new elections are held. But the opposition says that Farmaajo himself was responsible for creating this situation by having stymied negotiations over the electoral framework.
