(4 minutes read)
- Somali leaders announced on Sunday they had struck a deal to finish parliamentary elections by February 25
- The elections have suffered repeated delays that have threatened the stability of the troubled country.
- The agreement was brokered after several rounds of talks between Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble with state leaders to try to defuse a bitter political crisis
- It was resolved that the ongoing election of the House of the People (lower house) would be completed between the periods of January 15 and February 25, 2022
Somali leaders announced on Sunday they had struck a deal to finish parliamentary elections by February 25. The elections have suffered repeated delays that have threatened the stability of the troubled country. The agreement was brokered after several rounds of talks between Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble with state leaders to try to defuse a bitter political crisis.
It was resolved that the ongoing election of the House of the People (lower house) would be completed between the periods of January 15 and February 25, 2022. Roble and Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, have long been at loggerheads over the long-delayed elections. These tensions often convoluted into bloody violence.
The tensions brewing between the national leaders have attracted international attention. Many fear that the skirmishes between the two leaders would further jeopardize the future of the fragile Horn of Africa nation as it continues to battle a deadly insurgency by Al-Shabaab Islamist militants.
Last month when Farmajo suspended Roble, the man he had himself chosen as premier in September 2020. Defying the presidential order, Robie charged the president of violating the constitution and of an “attempted coup”. The troops loyal to Robie patrolled the streets of the capital. Farmajo’s term as president ended almost a year ago. He is facing bitter opposition from leaders of other political parties for continuing in the position, which they term as unconstitutional. Roble wanted Farmajo to restore his powers before the elections could resume. He accused the president of using the armed forces to exert influence over the process.
Somalia has not held a one-man one-vote election in 50 years and follows a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament.
