The electoral commission in Somalia has called on the government to postpone upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, citing lack of security and a paucity of resources as factors militating against its work.
Somalia is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in November 2020 and February 2021 respectively.
They are being seen as landmark elections given that it would have been the first time Somalis will practically vote to elect their leader and MPs, a departure from previous polls when such exercises were limited to clan leaders.
Speaking in Mogadishu on Monday the head of the electoral commission, Halima Ibrahim, the latest humanitarian disasters to hit the country and the raging worldwide coronavirus pandemic are undermining the activities of the body to hold such exercises as scheduled.
However, opposition movements in Somalia are up in arms against Ibrahim’s proposal to defer the polls, demanding members of the electoral commission to resign if they cannot deliver.
The government has not commented.
WN/as/APA