Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble signs an agreement with regional presidents to allow indirect voting.
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has pledged to hold free and fair voting after signing an agreement with regional presidents to allow indirect elections.
The development came on Thursday, after months of delays caused a crisis.
The elders of the clans were to have selected legislators in December, who in turn were to elect a new president on 8 February.
Both proceedings did not take place, amid disputes over issues that included the composition of an election commission that would oversee the vote.
Disagreements worried that the clans could face off and that the al-Shabab armed group, linked to al-Qaeda, could exploit the security vacuum.
“My government and I are committed to implementing free and fair indirect elections. We are all responsible for ensuring that women get their share of 30 percent (of places). I urge all presidents of the state to facilitate and implement it, ”Roble said at a ceremony after signing the agreement.
The agreement, which was read at the ceremony, said Oak and the five regional states will select members of the election committee before Sunday.
Vote within 60 days
The agreement said that elections will be held in the next 60 days, and that each region will hold the vote in two places.
“My dear brothers, politicians, all you need is before me. Don’t look elsewhere. Forgive each other and I beg you to forgive me, ”Roble said.
Somalia had its initial goal of holding its first direct elections since the civil war broke out in 1991, but delays in preparations and continued al-Shabab attacks had forced it to resort to an indirect vote.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmaajo, has sought a second term. The opposition has accused him of packing up regional and national election boards with his allies.
In April, the lower house of parliament voted to extend the president’s four-year term by two more years.
The Senate rejected the extension and anti-movement troops took up positions in the capital. They have since returned to the barracks.