Inside last-minute effort to save Somalia from plunging into civil war

MOGADISHU, Somalia - All the concerned parties and stakeholders in Somalia are engaged in the last-minute effort to save the country from plunging into unprecedented political crisis, following delayed elections, which were supposed to take place in December 2020.

With the term of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo already expired and even that of parliament, there have been efforts to bring all parties together for the sake of stability and unity. Farmajo was set to leave office on February 8 this year.

But even after the expiry, Farmajo is yet to organize elections in the country, leading to suspicions from members of the opposition who accuse him of a plot to extend his term through parliament albeit unconstitutionally.

However, a number of meetings have been held in the last 24 hours with an aim of solving the impasse, which threatens to plunge the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis. The meetings bring together several stakeholders.

On Tuesday, President of Puntland State of Somalia Said Abdullahi Deni and the President of Jubaland State of Somalia Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe received representatives of the international community in Mogadishu, as part of the efforts to reach a compromise.

The meeting focused on electoral issues, with the governments of Puntland and Jubaland sharing their views on the best way to conduct the Electoral Conference. The two states accuse the federal government of Somalia of failing to implement the September 17 pre-election deal.

Earlier, international partners had met with Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble at his office after the planned FGS-FMS summit which failed to start on Tuesday. It showcased a deeply rooted electoral gridlock that could plunge Somalia into chaos and uncertainty.

Also, President Abdiaziz Laftagareen of Southwest and the Lower House Speaker Mohamed Mursal met on Tuesday to iron out contentious issues between them. The two, who hails from Southwest state, have been having supremacy battles that have threatened Farmajo’s term extension plans.

Elsewhere, Fahad Yassin, who is the NISA boss, sent the state minister and his close aide Abdirahman Dhere as a mediator between Abdiaziz and Mursal. MP Abdirahman Dhere who many observers call Fahad’s ‘Mr. Fix it’ was recently in Beled Hawo to receive the former Jubaland Minister Abdirashid Janan.

GAROWE ONLINE