The Senate of Somalia (Upper House) has denied reports that President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo requested a joint session of both houses.
Earlier in the week, there had been reports that Farmaajo would meet the Upper House and Lower House on February 6.
Apparently, the President called for the joint session to update parliamentarians on the outcome of the recent National Consultative Conference on elections.
Nevertheless, the Senate issued a statement on Friday refuting such reports.
In its statement, the Upper House stated that “Farmaajo had not requested a joint meeting of both Houses in accordance with the dictates of the Provisional Constitution.”
The Upper House said that President Farmaajo should have asked for the meeting through Speaker Abdi Hashi as the constitution stipulates in Article 57 (c).
Moreover, the Senate also said that its members would only have attended the joint session if Farmaajo adhered to Article 59 (4) of the Rules of the Procedure of the House.