Photo/Somali Times
Somalia is likely to miss a February 8 deadline to choose a new president after three days of negotiations between the central government and federal states which collapsed on Friday without resolution over the disputed electoral process.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and Somalia’s five regional leaders reached an agreement on September 17 that paved the way for indirect parliamentary and presidential elections in late 2020 and early 2021.
Talks between the Somali federal government and regional leaders on delayed elections ended without agreement in the central Dhusamareb city on late Friday. But that deal fell apart as disagreements over the multi-stage process escalated between the President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, and some regional rivals.
President Mohamed Farmajo, who is seeking a second term as president, talks at a joint meeting of parliament on Saturday.