Somalia Leaders Agree to Hold Election Within 60 Days

WASHINGTON - Political leaders in Somalia agreed Thursday on a framework for long-delayed national elections, hoping to avert a crisis that could push the fragile Horn of Africa country into political violence.  

The agreement signed by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and the leaders of five regional states laid out a path to parliamentary elections to begin within 60 days.   Speaking at the signing ceremony, following four days of talks in Mogadishu, Roble said the government is committed to implementing the agreement.   “My government is reassuring to the country’s political stakeholders and to the Somali people that my government will hold free and fair indirect elections in line with this agreement,” Roble said.