Somalia at a critical juncture as leaders fail to break election impasse

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Efforts to reunite political stakeholders in Somalia collapsed on Saturday as the country's top leadership announced intentions to hold elections in coming days, despite the stalemate that has rocked the country's internal politics, which could plunge the nation into political chaos.

Since September last year, both sides [opposition and government], have issued tough warnings about the upcoming polls, and none seems to relent on the push for certain conditions to be implemented. The September pre-election deal is yet to be implemented by the federal government.

But despite the wrangles, Galmadug President Ahmed Abdi Kariye alias Qor-Qor has been reaching to both parties for consensus ahead of the elections but the outcome seems to have hit a rock, further plunging the country into a state of uncertainty and confusion.

On Saturday, Kariye, a close associate of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, said his efforts to broker a truce between the two parties had irretrievably failed, adding that none of them was willing to embrace consensus which was his main agenda as he pushed to bring everyone to the table.

"I was optimistic that this situation would end with a dialogue between the stakeholders," he said, adding that: "But our efforts have failed to bear fruits. It's such a discouraging moment that we could not sit down and agree on various fundamental issues."

Moments after his announcement, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble said the elections will go on as planned, adding that the country will start with parliamentary elections. The polls were scheduled to kick off in December 2020 but the differences between FGS and the opposition derailed the process.

According to Roble, Galmadug, Hirshabelle, and Southwest will start the process, but he did not mention the situation in Jubaland and Puntland. The first three are allied to the federal government while the other two are considered opposition strongholds.

"Having made tangible efforts to reach out to FMS to amicably address differences of opinions on elections and as per my commitment and pronouncement to deliver free, fair, inclusive, and peaceful elections, the government has initiated the process to implement the elections," he noted.

GAROWE ONLINE