Int'l partners ready to support Somalia's election talks after Puntland call

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Members of the international community have pledged to support an ongoing conference on the model for elections in Somalia, in a statement that comes few days after Puntland called for an external arbiter to solve the stalemate, which threatens to scuttle the country's political leadership.

A section of regional state leaders and President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo have been meeting at Dhusamareb, the regional administrative capital of Galmadug, and are trying to reach a consensus on the appropriate electoral model. A technical committee has since given four viable options for the model.

Puntland and Jubaland however, are not parties to the talks, something that has raised concerns from members of the international community. In a statement, Puntland had called for a neutral arbiter for the meeting, something which the international community seemed to support.

"The partners are closely monitoring developments in Dhusamareb and follow up on the actions agreed and stand ready to offer such support as may be requested by all participants to facilitate implementation," read a statement from the team.

The team hailed a technical committee that was formed and urged members to come up with various options for consideration within the shorted time possible. The electoral model has been an emotive issue in Somalia, with the opposition insisting that elections must be held within the stipulated time.

Already, sources said that the committee, which is working without the involvement of Puntland and Jubaland, has recommended four models from which the final one will be picked. Some stakeholders want universal suffrage polls while others are for an extended clan-based model.

"They also welcome the commencement of work by the joint technical committee tasked with developing options for a compromise electoral model for consideration by the leaders," they said.

The partners also asked Puntland and Jubaland to consider joining the talks. But until now, both Puntland and Jubaland have refused. President Said Abdullahi Deni and Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe of Jubaland have been critical of the current administration, accusing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of planning a term extension.

"The partners strongly encourage Federal Member State leaders who have yet to join the meeting to directly engage with their colleagues now in Dhusamareb to resolve any outstanding issues in order that all may participate," added the statement.

Consensus building, they said, would be the best way out of the current crisis, which could plunge the country into an unprecedented quagmire. They asked Somalis to safeguard the process of state-building, adding that the country doesn't deserve to subjected to a political crisis.

"The partners emphasize that the participation of all leaders in this summit is critical to sustain the consensus-building process and produce a broad-based agreement on modalities for the 2020/21 federal elections that satisfy all Somali stakeholders," they said. "They remind all leaders of the importance of safeguarding Somalia’s state-building progress and honoring previous commitments."

"In this regard, the partners once again stress that any attempt by a single stakeholder, or a few stakeholders, to impose electoral modalities will lack legitimacy and will not be implementable without the essential support from all other stakeholders," added the team.

GAROWE ONLINE