Int’l partners urge Somali leaders to end election rift

The leaders of the five regional states in Somalia and the PM are expected to hold key talks in Mogadishu, in the latest attempt to iron out the long-running electoral deadlock. 

News Keydmedia Online
20 May 2021

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The UN and other international partners are calling on Somali political leaders to find a common solution to their long and bitter dispute over the electoral process.

The partners have highlighted the importance of compromise and consensus as Somali PM and five regional leaders are expected to start a new round of talks in Mogadishu after Farmajo failed to lead the country to a timely election this year at the end of his 4-year tenure. 

The partners' role has been low and ineffective for the past few years after the UN's envoy Nickolas Haysom was expelled in early 2019 for raising questions over civilian shooting in Baidoa ahead of the Southwest regional presidential election.

The consultative forum was set to begin in the capital on Thursday, May 20 but has been postponed to next Saturday due to the absence of two regional leaders from HirShabelle and Puntland, according to sources.

It's not clear if the upcoming conference will help leaders finalize the standoff and reach an agreement on the implementation of the Sep 17 election deal that allows Somalia to hold an indirect poll.

Somalia is facing its worst and longest electoral crisis in years after Farmajo extended his term by two years last month through the Lower House vote, a move that fuelled the tension and led to violence in Mogadishu which drove 60,000-100,000 people out of their houses.

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