The East African
Wednesday June 30 2021
Summary
In a timeline released by the Somali Electoral Consultative Council, chaired by Prime Minister Hussein Roble, the election initially scheduled to be held after two months of the agreement will now be staggered from July to October.
PM Roble said on Tuesday that the country should have new MPs and a President by October, if the schedule is followed.
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Somalia’s much-delayed presidential election will be held on October 10, according to a new timetable announced by Prime Minister Hussein Roble’s organising team.
The announcement in the capital, Mogadishu, followed two-day discussions by the National Consultative Forum, which comprises the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), the five Federal Member States and the Mayor of Mogadishu.
The East African
Thursday May 27 2021
Somalia s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble (far end) chairs the NCF meeting at ‘the big tent’, that is located in the former headquarter of the Somali air force on May 23, 2021. PHOTO | COURTESY | PM INFORMATION OFFICE
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Somalia’s key stakeholders ended their fourth day of talks in the capital Mogadishu with the strongest hint that a political deal will be reached by Thursday.
The details emerged on Tuesday following a marathon set of discussions from the weekend, with participants saying they had agreed on various issues that were initially contentious.
Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu, the Spokesman of the Federal Government said the National Consultative Forum (NCF) was likely to issue a communiqué of Thursday, signalling an agreement on the political calendar for the country.
Outgoing president Mohamed Farmaajo is today meeting with his arch political rivals Ahmed Madobe (Jubbaland)and Abdullahi Deni (Puntland) for the first time in several weeks following pressure from the international community.
Though Information Minister Osman Dubbe described it as an ‘icebreaker’ meeting convened by Farmaajo, sources privy to the talks authoritatively confirm that the international community upped the tempo against the three leaders to vacate their grandstanding.
The meeting comes barely a day after Madobe and Deni issued another condemnation against Farmaajo for ‘frustrating’ the talks and pulling the breaks on any efforts to resolve the stalemate.
The three leaders last met in February during the third round of talks in Dhusamareb which ended in disarray. The Federal Member State leaders and opposition presidential candidates accused Farmaajo of ‘walking out’ of the talks.
By T. Roble
GOOBJOOG NEWS|SOMALIA: The UN has mounted sustained pressure on Somali leaders to bring them to the table as the country stares at a constitutional crisis as it now emerges both parliament and president Mohamed Farmaajo will be in office in violation of the country’s supreme law.
UN chief in Somalia will be concluding his shuttle diplomacy on Saturday in Kismayo where he is expected to convince president Ahmed Madobe to drop his conditions and allow elections to take place. As of Wednesday night, Madobe and his ally Abdullahi Deni (Puntland) bowed to pressure and announced their respective state-level electoral teams (See separate story).