Two FMS leaders and opposition hold a meeting in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The council of presidential candidates led by former presidents Hassan Sheikh and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed held a meeting with Puntland and Jubaland leaders in Mogadishu on Sunday morning.

The talks come amid deadlock over the country's electoral process that led to the delay in the vote for the new president last month to replace Farmajo whose term ended on February 8.

Jubaland and Puntland have called for the re-opening of the Sep 17 election deal to include all parties, including opposition candidates in the dialogue to find a way forward to resolve the differences. 

Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni on Saturday arrived in Mogadishu ahead of the much-anticipated talk between the federal government of Somalia and member states, who are critical stakeholders in upcoming elections.

The United Nations had volunteered to be arbiters in the conference which is supposed to be held at the heavily fortified Halane Base Camp in Mogadishu. The camp hosts several diplomatic offices among them those for AMISOM and the UN.

Before his arrival in Mogadishu, Deni's sophisticated security teams were sent in advance, and they would be sighted with heavy weapons, purposely to ensure security within the Aden Adde International Airport was well maintained.

And upon his arrival, tight security was still witnessed at the airport, after which the Puntland leader was driven to the Halane Base Camp, where he stayed overnight. The meetings are set to start from this week after articulation of the agendas from both sides.

Deni's arrival is a reprieve to the international community which is hoping to find a solution to the current electoral quagmire in the country. He was the only regional leader who had not arrived by Friday at the facility for the conference.

Jubaland leader Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe also arrived last week and gas and has been operating from the Halane Base Camp in Mogadishu. The two are critical of the administration of the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

Farmajo insists that the leadership should concentrate on the implementation of the Baidoa accord while other leaders want the federal government to implement the September 17 pre-election deal. Farmajo's term expired on February 8 this year.

GAROWE ONLINE