The upper house opposes Farmajo’s parliamentary extension

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:00 am

Somalia’s upper house of parliament has issued a statement condemning today’s decision by parliament to extend the term of outgoing President Farmajo by two years. A statement from the Upper House said the House of Representatives had adopted a unilateral decision, which “will lead to political instability in the country along with security threats and other unpredictable conditions.”

Abdi Hashi said in a statement, “The unilateral decision of the outgoing parliament will lead to political instability in the country along with security threats and other unpredictable conditions. In the same way, this decision further alienates the solution to the country’s elections by directly violating the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution and other laws of the country. ”

 “Therefore, we call on the outgoing President, the outgoing Prime Minister, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives to step down and return to the rule of law and the September 17, 2020 agreement approved by both Houses of the Federal Parliament of Somalia, and immediately convened at the negotiating table; so that the country can go to the polls.”

The parliament convened yesterday with the aim of extending the term of the outgoing president. The extension, which has raised concerns among the international community, will further erode the country’s legitimacy. Parliament, which had previously held President Farmajo hostage, has approved an illegal extension, which the speaker said was a show of hands voted by 149 lawmakers present at today’s meeting, who debated a special law directing elections at the federal level.

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The Speaker instructed the Government to ensure that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is in charge of matters related to the elections at the federal level and to assist them in carrying out their constitutional duties, according to the Speaker.

The move by the Speaker of the House of Representatives is exacerbating the situation in the country, which has been at a critical juncture in recent days, and it is unknown what will happen, as the opposition opposes the extension of the illegal term.