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The UN Security Council has urged Somalia’s long-standing feuding government leaders to resolve their differences through dialogue and put the holding of the long-delayed national elections first.
The 15-member body also called on the federal government and regional states in a statement on Saturday to “ensure that any political differences do not deviate from joint actions against Al-Shabaab and other radical organizations.”
The text approved by all Council members was proposed after urgent consultations on the deteriorating political crisis in Somalia on Friday. This has raised concerns in the region and the international community that elections may be threatened and the wider region may face further instability. .
The day before the meeting, President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed stated that he had suspended Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Robl’s power to hire and fire officials as the latest move in their increasingly divided relationship.
In the statement, the members of the Security Council “expressed their deep concern over the continuing differences within the Somali government and the negative impact on the election timetable and process.”
They urged all parties to “exercise restraint and emphasize the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability in Somalia.”
Analysts say the deadlock has distracted attention from larger issues in Somalia, especially the struggle with Al-Shabaab. This al-Qaeda-related organization was driven out of Mogadishu ten years ago, but still controls large swaths of rural areas and continues to launch deadly attacks while fighting to overthrow the internationally recognized Somali government.
Due to the failure to agree on how to vote, the scheduled elections on February 8 were not held as scheduled, so the well-known Mohamed of Farmaajo is under increasing pressure to hold elections.
Negotiations between the federal government and regional leaders that began in March broke down in early April.
At the request of the president, the lower house of parliament subsequently passed a special law that extended the terms of current officials for two years and abandoned the September 17, 2020 agreement on indirect elections in favor of the one-person-one-vote model. .
These decisions triggered widespread opposition, led to the mobilization of militias, exposed divisions within the Somali security forces, and led to violent clashes on April 25.
After the conflict, Famayo asked the lower house of parliament to revoke its actions on May 1, including extending his term of office for two years.
He also called on legislators to support the agreement reached between the federal government on September 17 last year and the regional states on the way to advance voting, and asked Rob to lead election preparations and related security measures. This led to an agreement on May 27 to hold indirect elections this year.
The Security Council statement “urges all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue for the benefit of Somalia, and give priority to peaceful, transparent, credible and inclusive elections within the agreed timetable and in accordance with the agreements of September 17 and May 27.” .
British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward called on the UN Special Envoy James Swann to make a closed-door briefing on Friday. She expressed serious concern about the “increasing tension between the Prime Minister and the President”.
She said it was clear from Swan’s briefing that shuttle diplomacy was being carried out in an attempt to resolve the differences between the president and the prime minister.
“But the fact is that we have also made it clear that this is a very dangerous distraction from the main task of advancing the election,” she said.
“The risk to the Somali people, the risk of giving more space to Al-Shabaab is indeed very high. Therefore, we hope to get rid of this situation and resolve it as soon as possible.”
United Nations spokesperson Stephen Dujarik said on Friday that as Somalia commemorates the first anniversary of the signing of the September 17 agreement, the United Nations and its international partners are also “increasingly concerned that the escalating dispute between the president and the prime minister will undermine Somalia. Stability and undermine the electoral process.”
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