File Photo/Somali Times
The new envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations in charge of Somalia, Catriona Laing issued a new demand related to the political conflict between the federal government and the Puntland administration.
Catriona called on the president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and the president of the Puntland administration Said Deni to compromise, so that the government building process can continue.
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Catriona said that she had a private conversation with President Said Deni, and discussed with him that a compromise should be shown to eliminate the political conflict between the two sides.
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“I held discussions with President Deni to encourage him and the federal government to find a place to compromise, because the constitution of this country cannot be completed if that land (Puntland) is missing,” said the UN envoy in Somalia.
She also urged both sides to move forward while looking at the interests of both Puntland and the federal government, as she said.
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The statement of the UN representative in Somalia comes at a time when the relationship between the federal government of Somalia and the Puntland administration has worsened, and the administration is absent from the National Consultative Council which has been decided on fateful issues.
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The federal government recently said that it will not force Puntland to be part of the May 27 agreement reached by the leaders of the National Consultative Council.
Part of this agreement is to establish only two parties in the country, and change the parliamentary system that currently works in Somalia.
She said that Puntland, which recently strongly opposed the agreement, will remain outside the electoral system adopted by its government.
President Deni, who recently spoke about this, said that the National Consultative Council is not a constitutional council, and does not have the power to make decisions up to that level.
He added that there is a danger that cannot be ignored in relation to the continuous decisions coming from the National Consultative Council, which is a threat to the unity of the country and the fragile government of Somalia, as Said Deni said.