17 October 2021 – Liban Hassan
His Excellency Mohamed Hussein Roble, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, held a special press conference at the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu.
Roble announced that the election of members of the lower house will take place soon, most like it will begin next week, he said.
The prime minister noted that the election of the 46 northern seats in the next parliament would take place in Mogadishu, due to the northern region of Somaliland refusing to participate in the election.
He added that he had discussed the matter with the speaker of the upper house and the country’s deputy prime minister, and promised to expedite the election.
He also stressed that his government was working hard to complete the election, to take advantage of the short time remaining.
“Every night I pray that the election will end, and that no one will be harmed, no one will be harmed, and no one will be harmed,” said Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble..
The statement comes as some regional administration leaders are still reluctant to hold parliamentary elections, and it is noteworthy that even Jubbaland and Galmudug have not yet completed the election of members of Somalia’s upper house.
Somalia’s election for the Upper and Lower Houses of parliament should have taken place last year and Presidential elections were supposed to be held in February. However due to differences between the federal government and the regional governments specifically Puntland and Jubbaland it was not possible. The international community has emphasized that Somalia must hold a fair and inclusive election as soon as possible.