GAROWE (SD) – Somalia’s northeastern regional state, Puntland have rejected to attend an electoral talk called by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, calling on the country’s international partners to facilitate the talks on elections.

Puntland Information Minister Abdullahi Ali Hersi Timaadde said the mandate of the outgoing president Farmajo has no legal authority to hold an election conference.

“We know Farmaajo very well, it is very hard for him do things straight forward, if you can’t figure out someone in an hour, you’ll never figure him out in a day. Therefore, we want Somalia’s partners take leading role in the efforts hold talks,” he said.

The development comes barely a day after the outgoing president urged the regional state leaders convene in Mogadishu for talks discuss implementation of 17^th Sep agreement on electoral process.

He announced that he dropped plans to extend his term in office by two years to help ease tensions sparked by political violence in the country.

“As we have repeatedly stated, we have always been ready to implement timely and peaceful elections in the country. But unfortunately, our efforts were hampered by individuals, and foreign entities who have no aim other than to destabilize the country and take it back to the era of division and destruction in order to create a constitutional vacuum,” he said in a televised speech early Wednesday.

 Farmaajo said he will address the Lower House on Saturday to ask lawmakers to bring back the Sept. 17 agreement, an election model agreed on between his government and five leaders of the federal member states.