MOGADISHU —
Somalia’s newly elected parliament convened for the first time on Saturday,
bringing the war-ravaged nation a step closer to completing the drawn-out
process of appointing a new president.
اضافة اعلان
Elections in
Somalia follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan
delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament, who in turn choose the
president.
Nearly 300
lawmakers were sworn in Thursday — already more than a year behind schedule —
after a chaotic voting process that has been undermined by deadly violence and
a power struggle between the current president and the prime minister.
International
partners — including the
UN, the African Union mission in Somalia, the EU, and
a host of foreign governments — have welcomed the development.
Saturday’s
parliamentary session set the ball rolling for the election of speakers for the
lower and upper houses before they sit to choose a new president.
A date for choosing
the new president has yet to be set.
The parliamentary
elections should have been completed before President
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s term expired in February 2021.
But political
infighting stymied the process and the president’s mandate expired without a
vote taking place.
Mohamed, better
known as Farmajo, tried to extend his rule by decree but faced protests and
violent opposition in Mogadishu, where rival political factions fought on the
streets.
Under pressure
from the international community, he appointed Prime Minister
Mohamed Hussein Roble to seek consensus on a way forward but disagreements between the two men
hindered progress.
The bitter spat
between Roble and Farmajo stoked fears of further instability in the Horn of
Africa country, which is battling a decade-long Islamist insurgency and the
threat of famine.
Some
parliamentary seats still remain unfilled but sufficient lawmakers have been
sworn in to move the election process forward. So far, 298 legislators have
taken the oath of office, from a possible 329 members for both houses.
Somalia has not
held a one-person, one-vote election in 50 years.
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