With the legal term of the Somalia’s Federal Parliament coming to end in August 2016, a Female lawmaker has called for an extension of the Parliament’s mandate.
Former Somalia’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs who is currently a member of the Parliament, Fowsia Yusuf Haji Aden argued that the lawmakers needed an extension in order to complete awaiting tasks.
“The Parliament should at least be given a further six or 12 months in order to accomplish the pending huge tasks otherwise it will be a major setback to the whole country,” she said.
Fowzia’s call for extension of Parliament mandate comes at a time President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and other top government officials have ruled out any possibilities of postponing next year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The current Parliament which was formed in August 2012 has been widely criticized for not executing their duties to the expectations and been fuelling the country’s political crisis.
In May, U.S. Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry who paid a landmark visit to Mogadishu said that the Federal government leaders along with the regional administrations had assured him peaceful and democratic elections will be held in next year, after holding a meeting with them.
International Community has also urged Somalia leaders to work on holding peaceful and credible elections across the country.
Since last year, speculations have been going around over the possibilities of holding national elections across the country. Some sources revealed that the government was planning to ask the parliament to extend its mandate for a further two years.
Horseed Media
Somalia Lawmaker calls for extension of Parliament’s mandate
Published: July 22, 2015
