Northeastern State of Somaliavotes against the president’s extended mandate
Somali state legislature Northeastern State voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to deny the outgoing president another two years in office after extending his term.
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo provoked condemnation at home and abroad after signing an extension of his mandate to law this week. His four-year term expired in February, but a new vote never took place.
Northeastern State’s parliament tweeted that 52 lawmakers present voted to reject the president’s new mandate as illegal, with one member voting against the proposal and two voting neither for nor against.
The state of Northeastern State, created in Somalia in 1998, has opposed some of the conditions for holding the election and left the talks locked for several months.
The Horn of Africa is torn apart by a civil war that erupted after militants ousted its longtime dictator Siad Barre. The Mogadishu-based government has struggled to contain the armed groups that control much of central and southern Somalia.
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