The second phase of parliament elections in Somalia has kickstarted on Tuesday amid fears that offshoots of the outgoing president would hamper the electoral process.
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who took charge of organizing the country’s elections in April to help resolve a national crisis, announced the beginning of elections to the House of the People, Somalia’s lower house of parliament.
Notably, the ongoing election was scheduled for July this year but, months of delays in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country had forced the authorities to postpone the elections for October this year.
Some media reports also claimed that the elections were postponed as Al-Shabaab jihadists warned politicians against taking part in the elections.
When the voting is concluded, the East African state will be set to hold presidential elections, more than a year after they were originally scheduled.
It is also worth noting that the country has been facing a deadly clash between Army and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa group for the past two weeks.
According to AP, at least 30 people have been killed and 70 others injured in clashes. Also, over 1,00,000 people have fled a town in Galmudug state in central Somalia due to increased agitation between local authorities and a paramilitary organization.
Several citizens, including children, were displaced from their homes. As per the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the conflict between the authorities has spread to 28 rural villages.
Somalia had earlier abandoned Guriel because of fears of a possible battle between the Galmudug administration and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa.
Ensuring the integrity of the future presidential elections, the United Nations will engage with the Somali authorities on possible support to the electoral framework for Somalia.
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