Somalia’s Farmajo Signs Controversial Measure Extending Mandate by 2 Years
Voice of America
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has signed a controversial measure extending his term in office by two years. Opposition lawmakers have spoken out against the action, along with donors and the international community. The extension comes two months after the president’s four-year term expired with no agreement on how to replace him, while elections set for February were delayed.
Mohamed, known by his nickname Farmajo, signed the legislation late Tuesday. One day earlier, parliament’s lower house voted to extend his mandate, saying it had no other choice. Opposition lawmakers, including those in the upper house, have denounced the extension. Ilyas Ali Hassan, a member of the upper house, urged the president to avoid decisions that threaten the country’s stability. He also urged Farmajo to return to talks on establishing an electoral system. "It is unconstitutional, both Farmajo and lower house of the people – [the] mandate has expired so the decision to extend their mandate by two years is null and void and this is absolutely [a] threat to the stability and unity of Somalia and the peaceful transfer of power that Somalia has maintained last 20 years," Hassan said. "So we urged Farmajo to return to Afisiyoni talks immediately in order to reach agreement based on 17 September.”A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.