Somalia: Leaders Fail to Agree on Agenda for Crucial Elections Meeting
Somalia's leaders have failed to agree on the main agenda for a crucial electoral meeting, reflecting the unattended fissures between them.
Publicly,
they promised to try again on Tuesday, even as the country becomes sorely late
on elections initially planned for February this year.
The
agenda-setting meeting brought together President Mohamed Farmaajo and leaders
of the five Federal Member States (FMS) plus the Governor of Benadir region,
the metropolis of Mogadishu.
The
five are Said Abdulahi Deni of Puntland, Ahmed Abdi Qoorqoor of Galmudug,
Abdiaziz Hassan Laftagareen of South West, Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe of
Jubaland and Ali Gudlawe Hussein of Hirshabelle.
Others
in the meeting at the 'Big Tent,' a large makeshift structure inside the
heavily-guarded airport perimeter were Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and
the Mayor of Mogadishu, Omar Mohamed Filish.
The
talks opened by President Farmaajo on Sunday afternoon ooked to be at an
'initial groundwork' stage, as parties still harboured mistrust for each other.
This
gathering was just the first time in three weeks that all federal state
presidents attended, even though they all arrived in Mogadishu three weeks ago.
Amicable
solution
Puntland
and Jubaland leaders had initially accused Farmaajo of twisting the agenda for
his benefit. On Sunday though, Villa Somalia, the official residence of
Farmaajo, said the President was keen on an amicable solution.
"The President maintains his support
for the longstanding efforts towards successful, timely and inclusive elections
in Somalia," Abdirashid Hashi, a spokesman for the President said on
Sunday.
Somalia's
international partners have been putting pressure on the eight Somali leaders to
reach consensus on the electoral model chosen on September 17, 2020, paving the
way for an indirect election to be held in Somalia to choose 75 legislators for
the Lower House and 53 senators for the Upper House.
Leaders'
demands
Jubaland
and Puntland presidents want prominent members from the opposition, such as the
Somali National Salvation Forum, led by the Speaker of the House of the
Senators, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, accompanied by former President Sharif Sheikh
Ahmed, to join the current round of talks at the 'Big Tent.'
President
Farmaajo, visibly supported by the leaders of Hirshabelle, Galmudug and South
West, plus the Mayor of Mogadishu, appear against the reopening of the
September 17 agreement.
They
have been calling for the quick implementation of the accord's term in
accordance with the so-called Baidoa Framework, an election implementation
procedure agreed on February 16.
Somalia's
Minister for Information, Osman Abukar Dubbe, expressed optimism on the way
forward.
"It is an icebreaking phase, the hope being that all the sides will find a formula to clear the differences," he said on Sunday.
