Garowe Online (Garowe)
11 January 2009
The timetable for electing Somalia's next president has been thrown into confusion following the emergence of two separate agendas, Radio Garowe reports.
Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed, the Acting President who is also the parliament Speaker, met with a group of lawmakers in the town of Baidoa Sunday and held a press conference afterwards.
"We discussed issues relating to the election and we only have 17 days left," said the Acting President, who took office after former President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned in late December.
Sheikh Adan Madobe, Acting President of Somalia
He indicated that Jan. 26 will be the day when the 275-seat Somali Transitional Federal Parliament will elect Somalia's next president, adding that the election will take place in Baidoa, the seat of parliament.
Acting President Madobe distanced himself from comments relating to the establishment of a 'unity government' before the election, saying: "The government must follow the constitution and elect a new president within 30 days" after Dec. 29, when Yusuf resigned.
He called on Somali MPs to report to Baidoa ahead of the vote.
But conflicting reports have emerged following a Saturday meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that issued a public statement that contradicts the Acting Somali President's position.
Mr. Said Yusuf Nur, the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia, told the BBC Somali Service on Sunday that the meeting was attended by the defense ministers of Somalia, Uganda and Burundi, as well as representatives from the United Nations, the African Union and the Somali opposition group ARS.
"It was agreed to expand the parliament to include the ARS [Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia] before electing a new president," Ambassador Nur said, adding that the vote is supposed to be held in Djibouti later this month.
The Djibouti Agreement, signed between the Somali government and the ARS, called for the creation of a 550-seat parliament and the establishment of a 'unity government.'
But confusion has surrounded the political process following ex-President Yusuf' s resignation.
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