UN envoy to Somalia meets with Qatar's Foreign Affairs minister

DOHA, Qatar - With just a few months to the much-anticipated elections in Somalia, the electoral atmosphere continues to create a rift in the country, a move which threatens plans to hold free and fair polls, which could lead to retribution from members of the international community.

On Sunday, the United Nations special representative to Somalia James Swan met top government officials from Qatar, which is one of the major stakeholders in Somalia's development agenda, to discuss the current crisis, for fear that it could affect the credibility of the upcoming polls.

Mr. Swan held a closed-door meeting with Qatari Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani where the two discussed the current situation in Somalia, mainly the upcoming election, which the international community wants to avert possible disagreements.

The Qatar News Agency said that the two also discussed cooperation between the UN and Qatar, in which Somalia is closely involved. Qatar closely works with the current administration of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who is keen to seek re-election later on in February.

"Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs meets UN Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia. They reviewed the bilateral cooperation relations between Qatar and UN and Somali affairs," read the tweet from the QNA.

Swan had the mandate of the United Nations Mission Assistance to Somalia extended in August and he's keen to see a smooth transition later on this year. He has been integral in the peacekeeping mission process in Somalia which has taken a couple of years due to unending civil war and the resurgence of Al-Shabaab.

On the other hand, Qatar usually calls shots in Somalia but it's also subjected to criticism by members of the opposition who accuse Doha of funding the Al-Shabaab militants. The Qatari administration has overtime established strong ties with spy chief Fahad Yasin, a former Al-Jazeera journalist.

The opposition has accused the current administration of Farmajo of appointing his allies to the electoral committee, arguing that most of them are former employees of the spy agency NISA. But Farmajo has often denied the claims, saying that the opposition is keen to sabotage the electoral process.

GAROWE ONLINE