Somalia president rejects opposition calls for consensus-based election

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has rejected calls for negotiations with opposition leaders over the country’s upcoming elections, insisting that his government’s plans will proceed as intended.

Speaking on Thursday night, Mr Mohamud said he would not relinquish control of the electoral process in response to demands from opposition figures and leaders of regional states, dismissing their calls for an agreed approach to the elections.

His remarks signalled a rejection of efforts to reach a consensus on how and when elections should be held and how all political contenders could compete freely and fairly.

The comments came hours after the government-appointed electoral commission announced that the presidential election would be held in May, with parliamentary elections scheduled for April next year.

Mr Mohamud insisted that everything would proceed according to his government’s plans and that efforts to oppose the proposed process would not succeed.

Opposition leaders and the regional states of Puntland and Jubaland have condemned the unilateral move, arguing that Somalia can hold free and fair elections only through an agreed process involving the country’s political stakeholders.

They oppose an election organised under arrangements controlled by the federal government and the incumbent president, warning against a process that sidelines political opponents and denies them an equal opportunity to compete.

Speaking on Saturday, former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said it was unprecedented in Somalia’s history for a president to say, as Mr Mohamud had done this week, that he could carry the country’s future on his back without listening to others.

The development comes amid an escalating political crisis in Somalia, where state-building efforts, supported by billions of dollars in international security and development assistance since 2004, are facing a serious test.

Opposition leaders and the administrations of Puntland and Jubaland have threatened to establish a parallel government if Mr Mohamud proceeds with a unilateral electoral process that excludes his opponents and remains under his control.

The standoff threatens to deepen divisions between Somalia’s federal government, opposition leaders and regional administrations, as disagreements over the electoral process raise the prospect of a wider political confrontation.

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