By Suleiman Sabdow
United States government has called in the federal government of Somalia to convene and conduct elections in the country before the lapse of this year.
In a statement posted on the official Twitter handle of the U.S embassy in Somalia, the the U.S government urged the expedition if the electoral process so save the country from the quagmire.
We urge @SaidAbdullahiDe, @PresidentMadobe, @MrQoorqoor, @GudlaweHussein, and @Laftagareen to complete inclusive and credible House of the People elections before the end of 2021. The electoral process must be accelerated. https://t.co/FXSeRMINbh
— U.S. Embassy Mogadishu, Somalia (@US2SOMALIA) November 5, 2021
Somalia’s disputed elections has been facing myriad challenges including occasional postponement which has adversely affected the election of president that was scheduled for November this year but is seemingly staring at another delay.
Political analyst however believe that completion of elections in the fragile Horn of Africa State will take several months as things stand eight now.
The International partners in a joint press release said they are concerned about the electoral delays and urged President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to come out and fastrack the elections.
In a joint statement issued today, #Somalia's international partners have called for faster progress on the country's #elections. Read more here: https://t.co/mKVVcCF0uo pic.twitter.com/pbC4XUSWtr
— UNSOM (@UNSomalia) November 5, 2021
They also welcomed the resolution of feuds between president Farmajo and Prime Minister Roble and exhorted them to implement the agreed terms promptly.
International partners comprises of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Denmark, Egypt, European Union (EU), Finland, Germany, Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), Kenya, League of Arab States, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, UK, US and the UN.
Somalia plunged into an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis in February this year after lower house parliament voted to extend the mandate of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo which led a division of the military with some allied to opposition leaders mounting road blocks in the capital Moqadishu in protest of the decision.
After months of political stalemate the president and Prime Minister agreed to strike an agreement last month which poured a cold water to the brewing squabbles and upheaval in the country.
Somalia’s ballot normally entails a complex indirect process whereby delegates chosen from the five federal regional states who are selected by their various clans in their respective States, elect parliamentarians, who then vote for and elect a president.
The Horn of Africa State has not held a successful direct one-person, one-vote election since 1969 when late president and dictator Siad Barre led a coup and overthrew the government and ruled for two decades before the collapse of his regime in 1991 leading to decades of civil wars and caused a large scale of humanitarian crisis in the country.
