Madobe, Deni hint at no-show in Mogadishu as Farmaajo fights for survival

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Jubbaland and Puntland, two of the key actors in the ongoing electoral stalemate have hinted at an absence in the crucial talks in Mogadishu in what could herald another failure as the country further plunges into uncertainty amid violence and counter accusations between the Federal Government and the opposition.

Jubbaland Vice President Mohamed Siyad told the media Saturday the southerly state is unlikely to attend the talks even as it monitors the situation in Mogadishu.

“We have always been ready to attend the talks but the circumstances and atmosphere in Mogadishu now is not conducive,” Siyad said adding, “We will monitor the situation first before going there.”

Puntland issued a similar statement Friday but sources have now intimated to Goobjoog News the easterly State is considering giving the talks a wide berth.

Outgoing President Mohamed Farmaajo convened the talks for February 18 but failed to gather the key stakeholders as he battles the opposition which has mounted unceasing pressure on his continued stay in office.

The Council of Presidential Candidates (CPC) has maintained it will go on with demonstrations ‘until Farmaajo steps down’.

The talks between Farmaajo and the Federal Member States were expected to finalise on a deal reached by a joint technical committee last week in Baidoa, South West State.

But the indications from Kismayo and Garowe could further cast darkness unto the country’s quest for elections which have now been put off severally. The terms of Farmaajo and the Federal Parliament have already expired but Farmaajo is lurching on a resolution passed by the Lower House last October which technically secured Farmaajo’s stay in office until a new president is elected.

The opposition and legal minds have however rubbished the resolution on grounds it was superseded by the Provisional Constitution which sets the term of the president to four years since inauguration.

The resolution was also unilateral since it was only approved by one chamber of parliament.

The Committee meeting in Baidoa last week announced it had secured a deal and urged Farmaajo and FMS leaders to meet on February 18 to give it a final nod.