African Union, US urge Somalia to conclude long delayed polls

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The US has urged Federal Member State leaders to swiftly conclude the ongoing Lower House elections which have been marred by long delays, opaqueness and uncertainty.

The US embassy in Mogadishu said in a tweet the FMS leaders must ‘avoid further delays and swiftly conclude credible, transparent, and inclusive elections.

The remarks follow a meeting between representatives of the international community and the electoral teams at federal and state level in addition to members of the dispute resolution mechanism on Tuesday.

The UN office in Somalia, UNSOM said the meeting ‘discussed electoral work completed to date and underscored the need for a credible and widely-accepted process going forward.’

In a related development, the African Union Peace and Security Council has also weighed in on the electoral delays urging the Somali government and relevant stakeholders to expedite the completion of the process.

Elections in the Federal Member States are expected to resume this week following a near week-long lull. Jubaland which has not started the process Tuesday unveiled the first 14 seats to be contested but is yet to set out the election dates.