UNSC piles more pressure on Farmajo over illegal term extension

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United Nations Security Council [UNSC] has continued to pile pressure on the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo over the recently approved term extension, a move that rhymes with general opinion from members of the opposition.

A fortnight ago, Farmajo irregularly extended his term in office through the Lower House, a move that has caused a political storm in the country and around the world. The president was supposed to leave office by Feb 8 this year upon the expiry of his term.

In a stormy United Nations Security Council [UNSC], a number of member states condemned the extension and called for urgent dialogue to unravel the impasse. The team also endorsed the September 17 pre-election pact which was signed last year.

The pact had allowed the country to proceed with the clan-based model of elections, which would have allowed delegates to pick their preferred candidates in the advanced model, instead of the universal suffrage polls.

"It’s good to be back UN Headquarters in person for this UNSC informal interactive dialogue on Somalia. The only viable option for Somalia is a resumption of dialogue based on the 17 Sep agreement. We call on Somali leaders to urgently make use of good offices of AU, IGAD, and UN," Norway said.

"We support the leadership role of the African Union in facilitating dialogue. We support the political process by AU, IGAD Secretariat, European Union, and others," another statement from Ireland noted.

Similar voices were raised by India and other international partners, who insisted that the current crisis should be urgently mitigated for the sake of stability. The teams asked the country's leadership to rethink term extensions.

"We reiterate the need for federal government Federal States to resume dialogue. Need to implement the 17 September agreement and Baidoa declaration. The political impasse emboldened Al Shabab and other terror groups. Welcome role of AfricanUnion and IGAD," said TS Tirumurti of India

"At UNSC I expressed strong concern over the situation in Somalia. Dialogue should be resumed, prolonged uncertainty will further destabilize the country, 17.09 agreement must be respected. EU supports AUC, and UN efforts and remains engaged," noted Laranjinha, the Managing Director Africa at the EEAS.

Farmajo on Monday asked DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi to mediate on the current debacle in his capacity as African Union Chairman. Farmajo seemingly supported the issue of implementing one-person-one-vote elections, thus ruling out the September 17 pre-election deal.

GAROWE ONLINE

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