Somalia: as a sign of appeasement, President Mohamed announces the holding of elections
The President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmajo", November 26, 2018. Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
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Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, under pressure from his allies, called for elections to be held after a day on Tuesday that saw residents of Mogadishu leave their neighborhoods, fearing further armed clashes.
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President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmajo" will address parliament on Saturday (May 1) in order to "
obtain approval for the electoral process
" and call on political actors to hold "urgent discussions" on how to conduct the vote, he said. one who is best known by his nickname "Farmajo", during an address broadcast on state media at 1:00 local time.
The
tension was high
on Tuesday in the capital, two days after an exchange of fire between government forces and pro-opposition that killed three people.
In several neighborhoods, residents were leaving their homes, piling their belongings on donkey carts or fleeing in minibuses or tuk tukes.
End of mandate
Such political violence has not been observed for several years in Somalia, a country with a precarious balance already facing the Islamist rebellion of the Shebab affiliated with al-Qaeda.
They have rekindled the specter of urban fighting between
rival clan factions
that ravaged Mogadishu at the height of the civil war.
Political tensions have swelled since the end of the term of President "Farmajo", which expired on February 8 without elections being held.
On April 12, Parliament passed a law extending his term of office by two years pending the organization of a poll, to the fury of the opposition.
The electoral stalemate turned into armed clashes on Sunday evening, as allied opposition fighters set up roadblocks in several neighborhoods in Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, two of the five semi-autonomous states that make up the country, those of Galmudug and Hirshabelle, officially rejected the presidential term extension and called for elections.
Ally of Farmajo, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble welcomed this declaration and called for "
the acceleration of fair and free elections
".
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See also: The African Union criticizes the Somali president who is extending his mandate
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Somalia
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo