News24
26 May 2021, 04:11 GMT+10
A deal “in principle” has been reached in Somalia to organise new elections, its foreign minister told the UN Security Council Tuesday, after a postponement sparked one of the country’s worst political crises in years.
Tensions soared in the Horn of Africa nation after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed last month extended by two years a mandate which had expired on 8 February.
Days after that decision, violence erupted in the capital as government forces clashed with pro-opposition groups who briefly took control of parts of the city.
“We have now reached an agreement that will lead Somalia to inclusive, credible, free and fair elections. The three key outstanding issues to complete the agreement were all discussed and agreed upon in principle,” said Mohamed Abdirizak via videolink, without citing a date for the vote.
In a bid to de-escalate the unrest, the president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, earlier this month tasked Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble with reaching out to rivals to hold roundtable talks while agreeing to hold presidential and legislative polls.
Somali leaders began negotiations Saturday aimed at organising new elections after the postponement.
