Somalia’s international partners welcome the decision taken by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) on an electoral model for the electoral process to be conducted later this year. The United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union (EU), Ethiopia, France, Italy, Qatar, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America all express their support for this important step.
International partners welcome the decision on an electoral model announced by the Federal Government of Somalia on 27 January. International partners commend the Federal Government of Somalia for seeking a consensus on an electoral model for 2016. The international partners also commend the leaders of Somalia’s existing and emerging federal member states for the serious efforts they made, over several months, to reach a compromise.
The international community recognises that this model required compromises from all parties, and calls on all people in Somalia to put the interests of the country first and avoid conflict in the electoral process. They noted and pledged to support the immediate next political and practical steps needed to ensure the implementation of the decision and the measures required to make progress towards a qualitatively better electoral process and political dispensation in the future.
Today’s decision on an electoral model marks a major milestone and manifests, again, the determination and commitment of Somali leaders to respecting the constitutionally mandated term limits of the legislature and the executive and to conducting an electoral process in 2016. International partners also welcome the fact that the electoral model determined by the Federal Government complies with the principles set out in the Mogadishu Declaration of 16 December.
Somalia’s international partners urge the country’s political leaders and institutions, including parliament, to work closely and constructively on the details required to implement the electoral model, and on a political roadmap for the period between 2016 and 2020, in accordance with the Mogadishu Declaration.
International partners emphasise that the electoral process in 2016 represents an important, albeit first, step towards one-person one-vote elections by 2020. International partners note that the decision on an electoral model is also a major achievement for the Somali people, who participated in the national consultative process with enthusiasm and commitment to a shared political future.
The Somali people expect and deserve the timely implementation of an inclusive and transparent electoral process this year. At a time when Somalia and the region remain under attack, international partners stress that continued political progress is indispensable to ensure the sustainability of security, stabilization efforts and economic development throughout all regions of Somalia.
Somalia’s international partners are committed to supporting the Federal Government and the existing and emerging federal member states in the implementation of the electoral process later this year. They reiterate their strong commitment to the peacebuilding and state-building process in Somalia and to working with all constituencies towards this goal.
