Somalia’s political leaders have agreed to indirectly pick a new president in October, the prime minister’s office said on Tuesday, reported Reuters.
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble’s office unveiled the timetable for indirect parliamentary and presidential elections in a statement on Twitter. The election of the Upper House (Senate) legislators will be held on July 25 and the presidential election has been set for Oct. 10. The election of the lawmakers of the Lower House will take place from Aug.10 to Sept.10.
The political leaders have also set Sept. 20 as the date for swearing-in of the lawmakers and election of the speakers of both Houses of Parliament.
The dates were finalized following two days of 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 announcement of election dates is expected to ease Somalia’s political crisis brought on by a delay in holding the election.
“I commend the leaders of the council and hope the election will be a peaceful and transparent one, based on the agreed-upon schedule and processes,” Prime Minister Roble said.
Somalia has not held a direct one-person, one-vote election since 1969. Failure to resolve the electoral impasse plunged Somalia into a political crisis since President Mohamed Farmajo’s term officially ended on Feb. 8 while the four-year term of parliament ended on Dec. 27, 2020.
President Farmaajo and the leaders of Somalia’s five states had been unable to agree on the terms of a vote and that led to an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the country.
Under pressure, the president reversed the mandate extension and ordered his prime minister to reconvene with the leaders of the five states to chart a fresh roadmap toward elections. In May, the warring leaders announced plans to commence the multi-stage election process within 60 days, helping ease political tensions.
