Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Wednesday said he is ready to cancel the two-year extension of his presidential term, reported Africa News.
Mohamed made the decision owing to internal and international pressure to back away from a controversial resolution on the extension passed by the Lower House of Parliament.
The Somalia president addressed the nation after midnight on Wednesday after two regional key states, who had been staunch allies of the president, objected to his two-year extension and the prime minister welcomed their decision. He said he will appear before the Lower House of Parliament on Saturday to ask the lawmakers to restore last year’s agreement between the federal government, five other federal member states, and the governor of Mogadishu.
The “September 17 agreement” signed last year called for the election of federal lawmakers through indirect elections, who would then elect the president.
The agreement was invalidated by the Lower House of Parliament on April 12, giving the executive and legislative branches an extension of two years to prepare popular elections. Mohamed signed the resolution into law on the next day.
The Somalia parliament’s mandate expired on December 27, 2020, and the president’s term expired on February 8, 2021. The country failed to hold elections as planned.
“I shall on Saturday, appear before House of the People of our Republic to restore the September 17 process between Federal Government and the Federal Member States,” he said.
Once the parliament approves the president’s request, the two-year extension will get reversed.
“The government sees the only viable path is through dialogue, convincing each other and compromise, and a return to the table to complete the September 17 agreement,” Mohamed said.
The Somalia president called all the signatories of the September agreement to hold immediate talks to discuss how to implement the agreement without any conditions.
