Somalia: Federal Govt, regional States hold meeting Nairobi

NAIROBI, Somalia – Somali Government and the Federal Member States are holding a special meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to discuss the future of the Horn of Africa Country, Garowe Online reports.

The conference came after Somali leaders agreed to form a joint electoral committee to advise on a voting system for the country in 2020 during their 6th National Security Council forum held in Mogadishu from 6th-10th February 2018.

Somali PM Hassan Ali Khaire has recently appointed the 10-member committee which is solely made of members selected from the offices of the leaders of Somali Government and the Federal Member States.

Sources tell GO that the newly appointed committee is meeting in Nairobi to decide the agenda of the upcoming Somali leaders' conference in Baidoa city, the interim administrative capital of Southwest administration.

Pundits say the National Security Council and the joint committee have taken over the responsibilities of the institutions of the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States.

The Council which has been formed in mid-April 2017 in Mogadishu is made up of Federal Government and regional administrations holds consultative meeting after every 3 months. 

The east African Country has seen clan-based elections since the collapse of the former central government in 1991.

The 2017 electoral process was not a universal suffrage election, as conditions were not in place for a one-person, one-vote ballot. Instead, a similar committee worked on a system of indirect elections was held to form current Federal Parliament which subsequently elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in a ballot.

Former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his PM Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke preferred the 4.5 clan formula based election after failing the implementation of the multi-party politics and democratic polls in Somalia.

Nairobi meeting comes amid deadlock over the constitutional review process after the joint Parliamentary Constitutional Review and Oversight Committee said Monday they’ve no confidence in Federal Minister of constitution Abdi Hosh Jibril.

In the statement seen by GO, the committee accused the minister of impediment and lack of cooperation as well as intentionally dragging the constitutional review process for his personal benefit.

GAROWE ONLINE