MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The United States said on Friday that it would hold accountable those who obstruct or undermine Somalia’s elections as deadline to conclude ongoing parliamentary polls looms amid renewed dispute between members of the country’s electoral body.
“We again call on Somalia’s leaders to honor their commitments to the Somali people to complete parliamentary elections in a credible and transparent manner by Feb 25,” US embassy in Mogadishu tweeted on Friday.
In a seperate statement, Somalia’s international partners repeated calls for addressing “procedural irregularities” in order to “build confidence in the electoral process and its outcomes”.
“As outlined in the National Consultative Council (NCC) Communique of January, candidates must be free to compete without obstruction. Journalists should be able to report on, and civil society free to observe electoral activities without intimidation. In addition, we call on all leaders to avoid an escalation of political tensions and to ensure that security forces are not used as political instruments,” Somalia’s international partners said in a statement.
“International partners repeat the concern that the 30 per cent quota for women’s representation in parliament is not being met and call for urgent corrective measures to be applied for the remaining seats.”
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