Somalia: Still no date for parliamentary elections

Somalia failed to complete elections for the lower house of parliament by the Tuesday (15th March) deadline, marking yet another delay in the electoral process that should lead to the appointment of a new president, which has been expected for more than a year.

The Somali government, which last month extended the deadline for completing the appointment of members of the lower house to 15 March, had made no announcement by early Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday, the federal states of South West and Galmudug concluded the election of their representatives, but 40 of the 275 seats in the lower house remained to be filled in three states (Jubaland, Hirshabelle, Puntland), according to an AFP count based on official data.

The closure of the lower house elections is a crucial step towards the election of a new president. Under Somalia’s complex system, federal-state assemblies and delegates invested by a myriad of clans and sub-clans choose lawmakers who then appoint the president.

Somalia has been waiting for more than a year for a new head of state. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, has been president since 2017 and his term expired on 8 February 2021 without having reached an agreement with regional leaders on the organisation of elections.

However, the announcement in mid-April of the extension of his mandate for two years had triggered armed clashes in Mogadishu.

Africanews/Olajumoke Adeleke