Somalia delays key election over candidate names

The start of the elections in Somalia, scheduled for Sunday and at the center of a political crisis that has agitated the country for months, has been delayed, said official sources interviewed by correspondents.

The volatile Horn of Africa country was due to begin a long election cycle on Sunday, starting with the Senate election and ending on October 10 with the presidential election, according to the official calendar.

The federal state’s regions have failed to submit the list of candidates who will participate in the polls on time or to form the local committees that will vote, the sources added.

Federal government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu briefly told AFP on Sunday that the elections were “delayed,” but said the process would continue.