Somalia Government Postpones Elections to 2012

April 26, 2011

Somali parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden addresses a news conference at Adam Ade airport in capital Mogadishu, March 24, 2011 (file photo)

On August 20, the original mandate bestowed to Somalia's transitional government by the international community will run out. The besieged government was given seven years to deliver a new constitution and national elections, but has thus far failed on both counts.

After a recent meeting, however, Somalia's Council of Ministers have announced it will deliver both by next year. Speaking to VOA, senior advisor to the Prime Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said holding elections this year would be futile given the threat posed by Islamic insurgents al-Shabab.

"Most of south and central regions are controlled by al-Shabab who are not willing to take part of the said election," said Osman. "Therefore, it would be very difficult to get a kind of representative members of parliament that is accountable to its people."

Al-Shabab has been battling the government since 2007 to establish an Islamic state on the Horn of Africa. The group, which maintains ties to al-Qaida, has pushed the government to the edge of survival and controls the majority of central and southern Somalia, including much of the capital, Mogadishu.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has maintained its foothold in Mogadishu with significant support from the 8,000 troops of the African Union peacekeeping mission AMISOM. Given al-Shabab's strength, many international observers see little hope for the beleaguered government.