MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s opposition is planning to form a “National Salvation Government” that will oversee elections set to be held in two years after it has boycotted ongoing parliamentary polls, describing them as “brazen fraud”, in what could again trigger clashes with president’s supporters similiar to those that racked the capital in April, a draft document seen by Somaliguardian said.
On Sunday, the opposition issued a statement saying it would hold a national consultative conference that is intended to host intellectuals from the across social, political and economic spectrums to further efforts aimed at saving the country from sliding back to another civil war.
The council of presidential candidates wants to establish, as written in the document, to establish “High Council of the State”, which comprises 50 members and whose primary task is to pick a president who will then name a prime minister to lead the country to elections.
There are reports that opposition members, including former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed – who is the chair of the Council of Presidential Candidates – are bitterly against the proposal. He is suspected of having friendly ties with the incumbent president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and his ally Fahad Yasin.
The parallel government’s first priorities would be liberation of the country, completion of the national constitution and the holding of a referendum for its endorsement, and the conduct of one person one vote election.
“Work in progress, should the PM fails to suspend the fraudulent electoral process, his failure will not only act as a catalyst to the formation of the council but will force the CPC (the Council of Presidential Candidates) to act immediately in days and expedite the process of establishing the NSG,” Abdirisak Omar Mohamed, an opposition figure tweeted on Sunday.
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