Farmajo and opposition under pressure to strike consensus

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and his opposition counterparts are under pressure to strike a consensus before elections are held, with the international community now chipping in to help the two factions settle on some issues that have derailed the process. 

The country was supposed to start holding elections by December 1, 2020, but the timeline has been surpassed following disagreements on the composition of the Electoral Committee team, which the opposition insists that consists of NISA agents and loyalists of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

At the Somali Partnership Forum on Monday, an annual event where the country's leadership engages members of the international community, several speakers urged all leaders to expedite the consensus process for the sake of stability and democracy in the Horn of Africa nation. 

US ambassador to Somalia Donald Yamamoto insisted that the country must hold elections as "stipulated under September pre-election deal" which was signed by the federal government of Somalia, federal member states, and the governor of Banadir.

Anyone dragging the process, he added, will be held accountable by the US. He also warns against parallel elections which the opposition has threatened to hold after the team came up with a parallel team that is expected to hold rival elections in the country. 

Nicolas Berlanga, the EU envoy to Somalia, also asked locals leaders to look for homegrown solutions over the election stalemate. He said the leadership should strike a consensus as soon as next week and asked the opposition politicians to refrain from utterances that can cause divisions.

It's not clear if these warring teams will respect calls from the international community but President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo seems to be set for elections despite resistance from the opposition which had called for among others, disbanding the current electoral team and negotiations to end the stalemate. 

Farmajo had on Monday asked Jubaland and Puntland to honor the pre-election deal signed in September but the two states, whose views resonate with those of the opposition, called for the withdrawal of troops from Gedo in Jubaland which was one of the agreements signed in September and which is yet to be implemented. 

GAROWE ONLINE