Somalia’s newly formed parliament urged to tackle political and security

The newly elected Somali lawmakers have been urged to tackle political and security as well as governance challenges to help rebuild the Horn of Africa nation.

In a statement, European Union urged Somalia’s newly-installed lawmakers to focus on consensus-building and reconciliation; providing governance, services and security to the people.

Welcoming the election of parliamentarians for both Upper and Lower Houses, the EU

EU has express the hope political leadership to build a credible and capable security sector and consolidate the constitutional basis that should underpin Somalia’s state-building project.

“The EU delegation and member states express the hope that, with the incoming political leadership of the country, the newly elected parliamentarians will now focus on the challenges at hand,” the statement said.

The Both Upper and Lower House members were sworn in late December following a three-month long vote, which is yet to be concluded as elections for the breakaway region of Somaliland are still ongoing.

The lower house consists of 275 members while the upper house is made up of 54 members.

Only 259 of the 275 parliamentary seats were filled, because some legislators had not yet been elected or taken office in the country’s tumultuous elections, which started on November 5.