Somalia’s Parliament Votes To Extend President’s Term

Somalia’s lower house of parliament on Monday voted to extend the president’s term by two years.

The resolution which was backed by 149 legislators, also orders the election commission of Somalia to hold new elections in under two years.

However, Monday’s development is likely to be rejected by the opposition, which has accused President Farmajo of deliberately frustrating the election process to extend his rule.

President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo’s term officially ended on February 8 but under Somali law, the proposal has to be voted on by the upper house of parliament.

The latest round of talks to resolve Somalia’s election impasse collapsed last Wednesday with the federal government blaming leaders of Puntland and Jubbaland regional governments for the failure.

The election stalemate has plunged Somalia into a political crisis with major concerns that terrorist group Al Shabab might exploit the disagreement and further undermine the already fragile security of the Horn of Africa.