Monday February 8, 2021
MOGADISHU (HOL) - The US and other international partners in Somalia have pressed the country’s leadership to revisit the stalled electoral talks ‘urgently’ as the country further plunged into uncertainty Monday after the term of President Mohamed Farmaajo lapsed with no agreement.
In separate statements, the US and other foreign embassies including the EU and the UN said Farmaajo and the Federal Member States should set aside their differences and go back to the negotiation table.
“We call upon Somalia’s leaders to resume their dialogue urgently to reach final agreement permitting national elections to take place as soon as possible,” the UN and more than ten foreign embassies and delegations in Somalia said.
They, however, warned against any parallel process noting the September 17 agreement in Mogadishu remains the only valid process.
The remarks seem to castigate a joint statement by 14 opposition candidates who called Monday for the formation of a Transitional Council to oversee the preparation of elections.
“The United States urges President Farmaajo and Somalia’s national leadership to act now to resolve the political impasse that threatens Somalia’s future and find agreement with Federal Member State leaders to allow the conduct of parliamentary and presidential elections immediately,” the US embassy said in a separate statement.
It warned that the ongoing gridlock had ‘resulted in a disappointing lack of progress’ in the country’s recovery process including the war against extremism and economic growth.
The term of Farmaajo ends today in line with the provisions of the constitution.