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On November 23, United Nations Special Representative James Swan, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), briefed the UN Security Council on the political and security situation in Somalia. The briefing has come at a critical moment as Somalia is preparing for the legislative and presidential elections. Somalia will hold presidential elections on February 8, 2021, which will be preceded by legislative elections from December 1 to 27, 2020. Somalia holds indirect elections in which clans elect members of Parliament through special elections. Then the 275 legislators and 59 senators elect the president. The UN envoy told the UN Security Council that the agreed process must be carried out in a fair, transparent, widely accepted and peaceful manner and must be more participatory and inclusive than four years ago.
“The electoral calendar foresees the selection of the members of the two houses of the Federal Parliament by the end of December and the election of the federal president by the new Parliament in February 2021. The nominations to the electoral management bodies were delayed for several weeks and continue being the subject of controversy. The finalization of the electoral security plan is also pending, to ensure that the elections are as safe and secure as possible, ”he said and urged Somali leaders to prepare in a consensual manner a roadmap with clear deadlines and benchmarks to ensure one-man elections and one vote. will take place in 2024/25. Aside from the UN envoy, many independent observers have also expressed concern about the delay in the electoral process. According to the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based research institute, the electoral process is threatened by disagreements and the lack of a mechanism to handle disputed election results. Somalia also faces resistance from opposition groups unhappy with the options to represent their clans in the first round of voting.
Somalia faces an imminent threat to security in the form of Al-Shabaab. Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, better known as Al-Shabaab, is a fundamentalist jihadist terrorist group based in East Africa. Established in the late 1990s, the Somalia-based terror group seeks to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in the country that it hopes will eventually expand to encompass the entire Horn of Africa. According to the UN envoy, “The security situation in Somalia continues to be a matter of concern, with the persistent attacks by Al Shabab, which remains the main threat to the security of Somalia. Continued efforts to protect the Somali people and degrade Al Shabab’s capabilities must be the primary objective of the national security forces, as well as AMISOM and other security partners, in particular as we enter the delicate electoral period. ” In addition to James Swan, Francisco Madeira, Head of the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM), also presented his assessment of the current security situation in Somalia and said that Al Shabab remains a major threat to peace and security and increasingly emphasizing the destabilization of Mogadishu by attacking high-profile targets.
Underlining the emergence of a clear threat image, he said the group is also recruiting foreign expertise as part of its knowledge transfer from affiliated foreign groups. Bolstered by its ability to mobilize rapidly, Al-Shabaab has recently begun targeting aircraft during takeoff and landing at forward operating bases, he said, warning that while these attacks have so far been unsuccessful, it is important to continue that emerging threat. .
Somalia Prime Minister Mohammed Roble reiterated the Government’s commitment to free and fair elections, in accordance with the agreed schedule. Given the logistical and security challenges, partners must renew their commitments to provide timely and adequate support to the bodies charged with organizing and overseeing the elections. He said that the government continues to generate and integrate forces, allowing it to continue degrading terrorist groups and liberating more areas.
Paying tribute to AMISOM contributors, he detailed efforts for a longer-term plan to transfer security responsibilities to the national forces, whose young men and women continue to effectively occupy the areas liberated from Al-Shabaab. However, there is an urgent need to invest more in their equipment, he stressed, noting that the arms embargo is greatly hampering their ability to effectively eradicate terrorist groups.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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