Somalia failed to conclude elections for the lower house of parliament by a deadline Tuesday, marking the latest hitch in a deeply troubled process to appoint a new president.
The mandate of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo, expired in February 2021 but was then controversially extended by parliament, triggering deadly clashes.
Under a complex indirect election system, the lower house plays a crucial role in appointing the president.
The five federal state assemblies, as well as delegates chosen by clans, choose legislators who in turn name the president.
Members should have been elected to the lower house by February 25 — a deadline that the government extended to March 15.
As the latest deadline loomed on Tuesday, the federal states of the South West and the Galmudug had elected their representatives to the 275-seat body, according to an AFP count using official data.
However, 39 seats remained unfilled in the three other states — Jubaland, Hirshabelle, Puntland, down from 40 earlier Tuesday.
The Puntland electoral authorities said voting for the state’s last six seats would take place Friday.
The government did not immediately comment.
In a tweet, the US embassy in Mogadishu acknowledged the leaders of South West and Galmudug for “meeting the March 15 deadline”.
But, the embassy added, the three other states had “Disappointingly… missed yet another crucial deadline.”
Somalia has battled a jihadist insurgency for 15 years.
Farmajo’s mandate was controversially extended by parliament in April, triggering deadly gun battles on the streets of the capital Mogadishu.
Seeking to calm tensions, Farmajo ordered his prime minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, to organise elections but tensions arose between the two, delaying the process.
Elections to the upper house were completed at the end of 2021.
In January, Roble and regional leaders concluded an agreement to complete elections to the lower house by February 25 after voting began in November. The deadline was then pushed back to March 15.
The international community has voiced fears that election delays could set off new troubles in a country already fighting insurgents.
After last month’s delay, the US announced an extension of visa restrictions on officials and others “responsible for, or complicit in” undermining Somalia’s electoral process.
And in February, the International Monetary Fund told AFP that the country’s financial aid programme — due to end automatically in May — was at risk if a new government was not in place by that date.
The United Nations’ special representative for Somalia, James Swan, also called on the authorities to “accelerate and quickly conclude” elections for the lower house.