The international community hailed the election of the Speaker and Deputies of the Upper House, which took place in Mogadishu on Tuesday, and urged Somali authorities to hold elections in a peaceful manner.
Somalia’s international partners said in a joint press release that credible polls must be completed before Somalia can address the problems that lie ahead.
“After the significant delays in Somalia’s electoral process, current political tensions and security crises must not be allowed to derail the process’s closing stages.” We urge all Somali leaders to display patience, address issues via compromise, and prevent any events from escalating. Somalia’s immediate priority must be to bring the electoral process to a peaceful and credible conclusion so that lawfully elected authorities can handle critical national issues.”
On Tuesday, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi was re-elected as the Speaker of the Upper House, and Ali Shaban was elected the First Deputy of the House. Meanwhile, Tima’ade was elected as the Second Deputy of the Speaker of the Upper House.
Lawmakers are arriving at the Afisiyooni tent in Mogadishu on Wednesday morning, where the election of Lower House leadership is to expected take place. But there is uncertainty over where the election could take place today.