Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud agrees to hold elections in 7 Months

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has agreed to hold elections within seven months and accepted some of the opposition’s demands, following mediation by the country’s international partners aimed at ending a long-running dispute over elections and the wider political crisis, Somali Stream reported on Monday.

The negotiations, which have proceeded mostly indirectly in recent weeks, saw Mohamud alter key language in his latest response to the opposition’s demands. Notably, he changed the description of the international partners’ role from “mediation” to “facilitation.”

The president also insisted on retaining the phrase “election of the federal government,” while apparently declining to give a clear timeline for when the presidential vote would occur. He removed wording committing to holding the presidential election specifically within seven months, even as he broadly accepted that elections overall would take place within that period.

Mohamud further struck out an opposition demand that the international community serve as guarantors of the talks, replacing it with language designating international partners as “observers” – a role limited to monitoring whether legal procedures are followed in the upcoming elections.