Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has expressed support for an African Union mediator role to break the electoral impasse in Somalia.
“I welcome @ AfricanUnion to take a leading role in facilitating an election process in which every citizen elects their representatives through free and fair elections. All Somali stakeholders will actively participate in the dialogue on the future of our democracy” tweeted President Mohamed.
Western countries have pressed the Federal Government of Somalia to return to talks on the 17 September Electoral Model following a controversial extension of the government’s mandate.
The African Union maintains peacekeepers in Somalia and is viewed by stakeholders as impartial.
The Somali Federal Government’s volte-face stands in sharp contrast to its past stance against foreign mediators in the electoral talks.
President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who chairs the AU, held a two-hour meeting with President Mohamed in Kinshasa and said that his counterpart had welcomed the AU to facilitate negotiations among Somali political stakeholders.
This article first appeared in the © Puntland Post, 2021 and is republished with permission