Somalian President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, on Wednesday urged a return to election negotiations and appeared to drop a bid to extend his term by two years amid clashes between supporters of different political factions.
Farmajo’s term was meant to end on Feb. 8, but the East African nation failed to hold elections due to a political impasse over electoral regulations and representation.
On April 12, Farmajo extended his term by two years, a move that the lower house of parliament supported and the Senate opposed.
The decision was condemned by the local opposition and foreign observers and triggered a political crisis and deadly violence.
In a televised statement in the early hours of Wednesday, Farmajo said he would “appear in parliament’s lower house on Saturday to gain their endorsement for the electoral process that was agreed upon,” as he called on all parties to refrain from any and all actions that could jeopardise stability in the country.
He urged a return to negotiations over the delayed election and called on all signatories to the electoral agreement reached in September 2020 to come together immediately for urgent discussions on the unconditional implementation of that agreement.
In spite of the extension of his term, Farmajo said returning to the negotiating table was necessary to end the chaos in the country, for which he partially blamed foreign forces, without naming any.
“All politicians should stop incitement and violence and we believe that a peaceful solution is in everyone’s interest at this critical time,” Farmajo said, addressing the opposition.
Alongside political uncertainty, Somalia is battling a fundamentalist insurgency and the Coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the postponed elections, attacks have been rising in the past few weeks.
At at least six people were killed after a suicide bomber of the Islamist al-Shabaab militia triggered a car bomb near a police station in Mogadishu.
The attacker was trying to enter the police compound, which was only avoided at the last minute, officer Ahmed Bashane told dpa.
Al-Shabaab has been staging repeated attacks to gain control of the country.
Troops of the African Union and the United States are supporting the Somalian government in fighting the terrorist militia. (dpa/NAN)
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