Djibouti It Is For Somali Presidential Election

[Somalian_Boqor]

May a strong and united Somalia with a Strong Federal Goverment based in Mogadishu take foothold This year. So far things are looking good for the peace and government loving Somalis.

Somali lawmakers leave for Djibouti for presidential election.

Somali parliamentarians have started leaving the southern town of Baidoa for Djibouti City, capital of neighboring Djibouti, where the Somali presidential election is scheduled to be held later this month, the deputy speaker said Thursday.

Since the former Somali President Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed resigned late December, the venue for the presidential election has been a point of disagreement within the Somali transitional government as some including the parliament speaker, Adan Madobe, maintained that the election be held in the parliamentary seat of Baidoa while others said it should be held in Djibouti city.

"We have agreed to go along with the Speaker who is also the acting President of the state. He urged us to the common consensus that we go to Djibouti for the election of the President and we are going there," said Osman Ali Boqore, deputy speaker, as nearly fifty members of parliament boarded a chartered plane bound for Djibouti.

The remaining lawmakers are expected to fly to Djibouti on Friday where the Speaker of the parliament, Adan Madobe will also arrive to chair the final session of the current 275-member Somali parliament which will approve its expansion to include members from the opposition, Boqore said.

The new expanded assembly would include 275 new members with 200 of them from the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) while the 75 members will be distributed among Somali civil society and the diaspora, according to an agreement between the Somali transitional government and the opposition last year.

Under the agreement, the new parliament will elect new senior government leaders such as the president and the speaker within the legal time limit of thirty days starting after Dec. 29 of the past year when the former president resigned. A number of politicians have announced their candidacy in the presidential election in Djibouti later in the month.

Source:Xinhua

[Somalian_Boqor]

Uganda sees end of bloodshed in volatile Somalia.

And So Do I.

Ethiopia's withdrawal, resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and increased political dialogue among warring factions are a clear signal that the bloodshed that has wrecked Somalia for decades is coming to an end,the Uganda government said on Thursday.

Crispus Kiyonga, Minister of Defense, flanked by Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, Chief of Defense Forces of Uganda People's Defense Force told a defense committee of parliament here that since these events occurred, the level of violence in the Horn of African country has gone down.

Somali leaders are gathering in Djibouti to increase the number of members of parliament from 270 to 550 who will then elect a new president after President Yusuf resigned.

Religious and traditional leaders who have themselves been divided are now uniting and have called against further bloodshed.

According to the Ugandan government most of the businessmen who have been bankrolling the youths to cause havoc have resorted to dialogue.

　　UGANDA DECIDES TO STAY

As Ethiopia started pulling out, Uganda was at a cross road. It considered three critical options which included pulling out, stay in the current situation or stay and demand for more reinforcement.

Pulling out meant leaving Somalia in free fall which would mean that the entire Eastern Africa coast would be insecure and therefore have an economic impact on East African countries. Staying in the current situation was also not an option.

After extensive consultation with regional bodies and the UN, President Museveni decided to go for the last option, stay but be reinforced.

According to Kiyonga, in a meeting between Museveni and Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, Museveni insisted that the peace keeping force in Somalia must be reinforced and equipped; it must be at the level of a UN peacekeeping force.

Uganda has also demanded for a 14 million U.S. dollar compensation from the African Union Mission in Somalia for using its military hardware.

Kiyonga said while the compensation and reinforcement is being worked out, the country is to deploy another battalion of about 700 soldiers in the next two to three weeks.

Burundi is also sending a battalion to cover the vacuum created by Ethiopia's withdrawal. Nigeria has also recommitted itself to send troops.

Kiyonga said that the TFG and the ARS have agreed to raise another 10,000 troops internally, to pacify the war-torn country.

A total of 8,000 African Union peacekeepers are required in Somalia but only 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi have been deployed.

Nyakairima argues that while more peace keepers are needed, what will solve the Somali question will be continued dialogue between the warring factions. He says that all indications show that this is the path the political leaders are taking.

<i>Source:Xinhua</i>