Somalia: African Union Pre-election Assessment Team arrives in Mogadishu

A delegation from the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia on Monday, on a pre-election assessment mission, ahead of the elections scheduled for August/September 2016.
The team will gauge the country’s preparedness for the electoral process and hold consultative meetings with leading government officials, the Federal Independent Election Implementation Team (FIEIT), the UN MIssion in Somalia, Somali civil society groups and representatives of Somali political organizations.
“The African Union Commission made a decision to support the electoral process here in Somalia and we are here to establish the facts that will inspire guide that support, not just for these elections but also for the future of governance in Somalia,” Mr Olabisi Dare, the Head of the AU Humanitarian Division in the Political Department of the African Union Commission, who is leading the four-man delegation said.
The team’s visit underlines the African Union commitment to ensuring the smooth running of parliamentary and presidential polls in Somalia, which are an important step for the establishment of credible governance structures in the country and a crucial component in the reconciliation and stabilization efforts in Somalia. The team’s visit will end on Wednesday.
Source: AMISOM