Somali leaders have set the dates for parliamentary polls. The leaders met in Mogadishu on Thursday October 1 to agree on the timelines for the upcoming polls.
Initially, the expectation was that Somalia would hold parliamentary elections in November 2020 when the term of the current parliament expires.
However, leaders who met in the nation’s capital agreed that parliamentary elections would take place from December 2020 to February 2021.
Furthermore, they acknowledged that the polls would be taking place at a time the country is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened insecurity issues.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of the Federal Government of Somalia chaired the meeting that was attended by all the leaders of Federal Member States.
Mayor Omar Filish of Mogadishu, who also doubles as the Governor of Banadir Region, was also at the meeting.
The leaders signed an elections deal in September.
However, there had been fears that the September deal, which was signed at the conclusion of National Consultation Conference, fell short of defining the exact dates for the elections.