Mogadishu (SD) – Members of Somalia’s international partners working to bring together Somalia’s disputing factions have reacted to the latest challenges in the election process talks.
“International partners are alarmed by public statements made by some officials yesterday suggesting that the closed-door, consultative, ice-breaking meeting of Federal Government and Federal Member State leaders is not making progress. We stress that these talks are central to ensuring implementation of the 17 September electoral model for credible elections, without which the progress of recent years in Somalia’s stability, economic development and institutional reforms will be at risk.” said the partners in an statement.
The international partners have also called on the Somali election stakeholders to reach an agreement regarding the election process as soon as possible.
“We urge the leaders to return to the talks immediately to reach agreement, through compromise, on remaining issues. We reiterate that partners will not support a parallel process, partial elections, or new initiatives leading to an extension of prior mandates. We urge all Somali leaders to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any unilateral actions that may cause an escalation of political tensions.” the partners said.
The international community has also revealed that it is engaged in private talks with Somali leaders.
“In view of the gravity of the current situation, partners are undertaking urgent consultations with the FGS-FMS meeting participants and other key Somali stakeholders to identify options for quick resolution of this impasse and a rapid return to dialogue.”
The statement from the international community comes at a time when talks on the electoral process have recently broken down
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