Saturday September 26, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Somali parliament has approved the newly agreed electoral model paving way for elections slated for later in the year.
In a joint session Saturday, 252 MPs and Senators voted in favour of the model while two filed a contrary opinion as one abstained.
The approval of the Model agreed to by President Mohamed Farmaajo and Federal Member State leaders last week in Mogadishu is a crucial step in ending a long running electoral stalemate.
The electoral commission NIEC threw the country off balance in July when it announced it would not deliver an election this year and instead sought up to 13 months.
The National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) said universal suffrage envisaged in the Elections Act would not be possible within the constitutional timelines forcing the country’s leadership to explore an alternative solution.
This led to talks which started in Dhusamareb and later Mogadishu culminating in a compromise deal which borrows heavily from the 2016 model.
Close to 30,000 delegates will elect the 275 member Lower House following the addition of 50 voters in the 2020/21 Model up from 51 in the 2016 version.
The approval of the agreement today follows a meeting between President Mohamed Farmaajo and speakers of both Houses of Parliament this past week. The meeting was also attended by all FMS presidents.