Somalia leaders ink new political roadmap
More News
- Somalia’s Roadmap Conspiracy unveiled in Garowe - Mohamud M Uluso
- Somalis agree on formula to pick MPs - Daily Nation
- The battered nation of Somalia struggles to rebuild its schools - Catholic Online
- Ethiopian court sentences 2 Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison - AP
- Somali pirates hijack Italian tanker with 18 crew - AP
- UN - FROM THE FIELD: Keeping hope alive in Mogadishu - ISRIA
- Two terror suspects released without charges - Capital News
- Kenyan forces kill over 200 Al-Shabaab militants - KBC
- Somali pirates paid Sh1.7 bn in one year, says maritime boss - Daily Nation
- African Union Official Cites Successes, Challenges in 2011 - VOA
- KDF kills five and maim 150 Al Shabaab fighters - Standard
- Somali hip-hop band fighting al-Shabaab for hearts and minds - Guardian
- Somalis agree on formula to pick MPs - Daily Nation
- Kenya's Dadaab Refugee Camp on Edge After Series of Attacks - VOA
- Swedish journalists jailed for 11 years in Ethiopia - AFP
- Vital lifeline to millions of Somalis could be cut off by December 30, 2011 - SAMSA
- Scotland Yard joins hunt for terror cells - Daily Nation
- Eritrea seeks neutral UN monitoring body, lift to sanctions - SudanTribune
- FBI honors local Somali advocate - PortlandTribune
Africa Review
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The UN sponsored convention took place in Garowe town, the capital of the semiautonomous state of Puntland, 1000 km northeast of Mogadishu.
The meeting brought together Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, as well as representatives of the breakaway Puntland region, the central Galmudug region and the pro-government militia Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa.
One issue that was discussed at length was good governance, with all the parties proposing a parliamentary reform before August 2012.
According to the new roadmap which is also known as Garowe Principle, Somali Parliament will be composed of 225 legislators instead of the current 550.
They will be selected based on clans with bigger ones getting major slots.
When the TFG was established following two years (2002-2004) of reconciliation talks in Kenyan capital Nairobi, 275 individuals were selected as MPs.
However, the number was doubled at the end of another reconciliation conference in Djibouti in 2008.
Bloody insurgency
The next Parliament which will have a Chamber of Elders (an equivalent of Senate) will remain functional for 4 years based on the prospective that the country will reach "one person, one vote" by 2016.
Continuous political wrangles and a bloody insurgency by a radical Islamist group, Al-Shabaab have undermined Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which has been unable to carry reconcile the country and organise polls.
Meanwhile, Somalia’s minister for Internal Affair and National Security Abdisamad Moalim Mohamoud told Shabelle, an independent broadcaster in Mogadishu, on Sunday that the government was aware of air raids taking place in Southern parts of the country. He was reacting to reports that Kenyan military planes were frequently bombing towns and settlements in Jubaland and Gedo region.
The minister added the TFG was in continuous contacts with its Kenyan counterpart on military operations.
“You must be aware that the Kenyan and Somali governments reached an understanding on information exchange on operations against Al-Shabaab in October,” he said.
Responding to reports that the airstrikes affected innocent civilians, the TFG official said that his government would make the necessary enquiry into incidents involving civilians.