Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed gets presidential term extended by 2 years

Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was due to step down from his position last February and since then faces strong pressures to leave power, will remain the head of government for another two years. The Somalia’s parliament has agreed upon and voted to extend the current president’s term for two additional years. The decision has been justified by the Chamber as required to prepare the country for direct elections. Indeed, the current government has been uncapable to reach agreement on how to carry out the national presidential and parliamentary elections before the deadline of its term. It has faced difficulties because of objections expressed by some regional states such as the state of Puntland and the state of Jubbaland on a certain number of issues. It has also faced pressure from the international community and countries such as the United States, who have called for fair elections at the end of the mandate. Unfortunately, in a country in which no one- person one-vote elections have even been held, organizing such elections has been more challenging than planned and the government has so far not been able to honour its promise to plan such election at the end of its four years term. For some analyst, wishing elections to be of a one-person one-vote type was perhaps too ambitious. Some government’s political opponents accuse the government of failure and consider that four years was long enough to get the country ready for fair elections.

The Somalian government decision did not meet the support of the International Community. Somalia’s main donors, who have helped the country rebuilding peace and stability, said they would not support any extension of the presidency’s term. In a joint statement drafted by International organisations including the United Nations, international partners have declared that ” (This) resolution undermines peace, security, and stability in Somalia and beyond”. Some countries, like the US, have also bemoaned the decision.

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