COVID-19 Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 2 June 2021

Thursday, 27 May 2021 marked a watershed moment for Somalia. It was the day Somali leaders met under the auspices of the National Consultative Council and announced a breakthrough in dialogue to resolve the impasse over the holding of federal elections. The deal provided an important implementation framework for the famous 17^th September Agreement on parliamentary and presidential elections. 

Following months of political impasse and rising tensions over the holding of elections in Somalia, the leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia and of the country’s Federal Member States signed a key agreement on 27 May that paves the way for elections. This was the culmination of several weeks of consensus-building efforts led by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble. 

Since February, a series of rash political decisions took place that threw the country into chaos. Although the election deadlock has now been resolved and a new agreement reached on 27 May, the repercussions of the recent political drama are wide reaching. 

On 27 May 2021, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member States (FMS) signed a major agreement that would put the country back on an electoral pathway after months of intense political standoff over the type and process of elections. In late April, armed clashes broke out in the capital after the lower house of the bicameral parliament passed a controversial resolution extending its own mandate and that of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo by two years. The decision was rejected by almost all domestic political stakeholders in the country, as well as the overwhelming majority of the international community.