Reports from the Dhusamareb talks between leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the Federal Member States (FMS) indicate that an agreement has been reached to hold timely elections.
President Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire have been in Dhusamareb, the administrative capital of Galmudug State, talking with all the regional leaders over various issues affecting the country.
Regional leaders at the talks include those from Puntland, Jubbaland, Southwest, HirShabelle, and Galmudug. These are President Said Abdullahi Deni, President Ahmed Madobe, President Mohamed Ware, President Ahmed Kariye, and President Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen.
Following two weeks of intense talks, the leaders have now agreed that the country must hold elections on time. A few weeks ago, National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) told the Federal Parliament that the country was not ready for the upcoming elections.
Somalia is expected to hold the first round of universal suffrage polls in November 2020. This would then be followed by presidential polls in February 2021. However, NIEC said the polls had to be pushed to March 2021 and August 2021.
Despite agreeing on the importance of holding timely elections, the leaders failed to reach any agreement on the model to be used. Nevertheless, they said the outcome of the upcoming polls must be “verifiable” and “credible” to prevent Somalia from falling into political chaos.