Farmajo backtracks on the two-year extension of his mandate

Outgoing Somali President Mohammed Abdullah Farmajo announced on Saturday that he was backing down from a decision to extend his mandate for two years.

He formally asked parliament to reverse a decision to extend the presidential and parliamentary terms for two years, which began on April 12.

Farmajo’s retraction came in a speech he gave to the Somali People’s Assembly, which was followed by “Al-Ain News”; He said : “I ask the MPs to reverse the extension decision on 12 April, and I request a return to the September 17 electoral agreement.”

He pointed to the handover of the powers of election leadership to Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Robli in terms of security and politics.

He continued : “I would like to explain to you the handover of the election leadership functions to the Prime Minister to overcome the political impasse.”

His speech follows international and domestic pressure to reject the extension, which parliament approved in April.

On Sunday, clashes erupted between forces loyal to and opposed to Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Farmajo’s two-year term in office.

The extension of Farmajo’s mandate, which ended two months ago, has exacerbated the crisis in Somalia, the scope of fighting has spread to different parts of the country, and units of forces loyal to the president have defected and joined the opposition.

Opposition forces have succeeded in taking control of the areas where the clashes took place, which reflects a resounding military defeat according to observers that will translate into a strong political card in the hands of the opposition if negotiations return.

“Pressure continues on the Farmajo camp to return to negotiations on the basis of the September 17 electoral agreement, and to hold transparent and fair indirect elections without further violence, which means removing Farmajo from the presidential palace”.