U.S. restricts visas for Somali officials over repeated election delays

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia officials accused of undermining democracy have been slapped with sanctions by the United States, a decision which comes days after State Department issued a warning to the officials.

The country has struggled to conclude Lower House elections which were supposed to be concluded last year but delayed due to internal wrangles pitting the opposition and outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

Antony Blinken, the State Department boss, said visa restrictions have been imposed on officials who have dragged the electoral process in the country. A new agreement suggests that elections are completed by February 25.

"We are now imposing visa restrictions under this policy against a number of Somali officials and other individuals to promote accountability for their obstructionist actions," Blinken said in a statement issued by the State Department.

Washington didn't name the individuals it sanctioned.

Somalia has been in chaos and conflict for 30 years and since the last yeasr caught in a lengthy selection process repeatedly held up in a power struggle between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble.

The country is holding indirect elections after the universal suffrage method collapsed. On Friday, the leaders of the Federal States and PM Roble agreed to extend the election deadline to March 15 after falling in the previous deadline to finalize the vote by Feb 25.

Data from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows 4.3 million people in Somalia are affected by drought, with 271,000 displaced as a result.

The al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab group, which frequently carries out gun and bomb attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere in Somalia, has also been an impediment to the election.

The US is concerned that the ongoing electoral wrangles are giving Al-Shabaab more room to continue attacking various places in the country. The group, however, suffered defeats early this week when over 60 militants were killed in the central part of the country.

GAROWE ONLINE