Somali President Mohamed Farmajo said he will join five regional state leaders later on Saturday for a second round of meeting in the central town of Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug state to discuss forthcoming elections.
According to Abdinur Mohamed, director of communications for Villa Somalia, Farmajo will join leaders of Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Puntland, Jubbaland and SouthWest for talks that will discuss how to hold credible and timely elections, security and ways of enhancing ties between Mogadishu and federal member states.
“In line with the state-building endeavors and in the spirit of enhancing the government-Federal Member States cooperation on the way forward, President Farmajo will be traveling to Dhusamareb on Saturday to participate in the second round of FGS-FMS Consultative Forum,” Mohamed said in a statement.
Both sides met mid-July and agreed to appoint a joint technical committee to provide guidance on the process and model of the election.
The meeting comes amid pressure from the international community which said preserving the recently cultivated trust among the leaders and sustaining the consensus-building process initiated during the last Dhusamareb summit is imperative in order to keep Somalia on a stable political path.
The Horn of Africa nation was due to hold parliamentary elections in October while presidential polls will take place in February 2021.
However, the electoral body has ruled out a universal vote this year and has instead called for up to 13 months to hold credible elections.
