President Farmajo welcomes the consultative meeting and its decisions

Tuesday January 11, 2022

President Farmajo welcomes the consultative meeting and its decisions

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has welcomed the national consultative meeting and its decisions.

President Farmajo held a press conference in Mogadishu on Monday night and said that the NCC meeting had yielded positive results that would ensure the completion of the country's elections.

"I welcome the communiqué statement in response to concerns about the smooth running of the electoral process and the challenges it faces," said President Farmajo.

President Farmajo called on state leaders to play their part in accelerating the elections. He also warned against misappropriating public funds for electoral purposes.

"Somalia today is not a time for pushing and shoving each other. We all have a responsibility to protect the dignity and governance of our country and to avoid anything that could harm it," he added.

Farmajo spoke in a more conciliatory tone and never commented on his frosty relationship with Prime Minister Roble, whom he tried to oust from office on the eve of the NCC meeting just over two weeks ago.

Somalia’s Federal Electoral Implementation Committee, who fired their chairman in late December over corruption allegations, welcomed the outcome of the NCC meeting. The electoral commission said the development was timely and called on stakeholders to adhere to the new electoral schedule.

The UN also welcomed the consensus deal reached by the NCC on Sunday to expedite the electoral process and called on Somalia’s leaders to cooperate on implementing the 18-point communique.

"The UN encourages Somalia’s political leaders to continue in a spirit of cooperation, avoid provocations that risk new tensions or conflict, and stay focused on delivering a credible electoral process quickly for the benefit of all Somali.”

Following the NCC meeting, Prime Minister Mohamed Roble and six FMS leaders agreed to complete parliamentary elections - which have dragged on for over a year - by February 25. Although Somalia’s Upper House is complete, however, elections for the Lower House have ground to a halt following allegations of widespread electoral fraud by opposition figures and candidates.

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