Only two FMS leaders arrive in Mogadishu as poll timeline fast lapses

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Only two regional states presidents have arrived in Mogadishu for the next round of talks with Prime Minister Mohamed Roble amid concerns that the 60 days timeline set out for elections is already under strain.

South West state president Abdiaziz Lafta Gareen arrived Friday while his Jubbaland counterpart Ahmed Roble landed in Mogadishu this morning. HirShabelle President Ali Gudlawe is in Turkey while his Galmudug and Puntland counterparts are yet to make their way to the city.

The May 27 Agreement signed by the Federal Government and Federal Member State leaders set out a 60 days timeline upon which presidential and parliamentary elections should take place. By tomorrow (Sunday), the first 30 days of the timeline will have lapsed.

That leaves another 30 days to prepare for the elections. So far, a Security Plan which needs to be actualized has been released in addition to the finalization of the federal and state-level electoral committees.

The next step is the selection of the 27,775 delegates who will elect the 275 members of parliament. But before that, the upcoming meeting will have to agree on whether to stick with the 101 delegates as provided by the May 27 Agreement or the return to the 51 per the 2016 model. Goobjoog News has learnt that some of the FMS leaders are pushing for the 2016 option for political and security reasons.