Former Somalia leader warns Govt against conducting partial elections

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali government led by President Farmajo has yet again been warned against conducting partial elections, with just a few days before the country officially goes to polls, amid escalating differences between the opposition and the federal authorities.

Somalia was set to go for elections from December 2020 but the plans were paralyzed following differences between the opposition and the government, which were triggered by delayed implementation of the pre-election deal which was signed in September.

The opposition accuses the government of deploying NISA agents, civil servants, and loyalists of the president as election officials, a claim which FGS denies. Despite efforts to have a dialogue between the two entities, no success has been recorded.

On Saturday, former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warned the government against holding partial elections in the country, arguing that the move could jeopardize the Country's unity and stability, which has been hanging on the thread.

"We cannot go to elections without the country being together. It's illogical to hold elections in sections of the country against the rule of law. We must find a remedy to this quagmire for the sake of stability and democracy in our country," he said.

On Saturday, Qoor-Qoor, a close associate of President Farmajo, said his efforts to broker a truce between the two parties had irretrievably failed, adding that none of them was willing to embrace consensus which was his main agenda as he pushed to bring everyone to the table.

"I was optimistic that this situation would end with a dialogue between the stakeholders," he said, adding that: "But our efforts have failed to bear fruits. It's such a discouraging moment that we could not sit down and agree on various fundamental issues."

Moments after his announcement, PM Roble said the elections will go on as planned, adding that the country will start with parliamentary elections. The polls were scheduled to kick off in December 2020 but the differences between FGS and the opposition derailed the process.

Galmadug, Hirshabelle, and Southwest will start the process of the election, but he did not mention the situation in Jubaland and Puntland. The first three are allied to the federal government while the other two are considered opposition strongholds.

GAROWE ONLINE