www.chinaview.cn 2004-09-19 23:10:39
NAIROBI, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Members of Somalia's newly formed Transitional Federal Parliament have postponed the election of the President due on Sept. 22 to Oct. 10, suggesting a hotly contested race among the large pool of candidates and the clans and factions behind them.
Somali Member of Parliament (MP) Awad Ashara said the election was postponed during a parliamentary session Saturday in Nairobi to allow the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Ministerial Facilitation Committee currently in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly to witness the ceremony.
"Parliament voted to postpone the elections of the president because the MPs wanted the IGAD ministers who are the mediators and who are currently in New York to be present to witness the ceremony," Ashara told Xinhua by telephone.
But some Somali MPs said the delay to elect a commonly recognized president was to ensure Somalia's various clans were "fairly represented" in the choice.
Members of Somalia's Transitional National Assembly were sworn in last month in Nairobi, with each of Somalia's four major clans getting 61 seats in the parliament, while an alliance of minority clans was awarded 31 seats.
The inauguration of the parliament paved the way for the return of peace to the troubled country which has been without an effective central government since 1991, when the regime of Muhammad Siad Barre was toppled.
However, the presidential voting will not be easy as there are some 60 Somali candidates for the top job, and an analyst declined to be named said most of them have questionable past as warlords, fraction leaders and "human rights violators."
The crowded pool of Somalia presidential candidates include Hussein Farah Aideed, son of warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed, who leads a 15,000 strong militia controlling central and southern parts of Mogadishu.
Another prominent candidate reckoned with a big chance in the race is Abdullahi Yusuf, the current leader of the autonomous Puntland region in northeast Somalia.
No matter who wins the race, the upcoming Somali government will in any case face large pockets of warlord-held territories within the country, since more than 20 leaders are still operating private armies and are frequently involved in clashes with each other.
More problems are sure to come, since some major faction leaders are missing from the talks. The main warlord outside the Kenyan peace process is Mohammed Hersi, commonly known as General Morgan.
During the past week, his men launched a major offensive against southern Somalia's major port Kismayo, the country's third largest city.
Only on Saturday, Morgan is reported to have given up an attack after the Jubba Valley Alliance, a regional armed group in control of Kismayo, had gained the upper hand.
"If we can bring him here (to the reconciliation conference venue) it would be the best thing for Somalia and for the peace talks," said Bethwell Kiplagat, the chairman of the IGAD Facilitation Committee on Somalia.
But Morgan's whereabouts remains unknown.
The newly elected parliament is already making efforts to make a favorable situation for the presidential election to take place and for the new government to be installed.
Ashara said the newly elected Somali parliament Speaker ShariffHassan Sheikh Adan appealed to all Somalis on Saturday to stop fighting and pursue dialogue if the Horn of African nation hopes to restore stability after the installation of the new government.
"The speaker urged all MPs to pass resolution binding all leaders to respect the cessation of hostilities signed in Eldoret (in western Kenya) in the year 2002. He also urged the MPs to build trust among themselves and respect the outcome of the reconciliation conference," Ashara added.
[End Item]