MOGADISHU: Somalia is unlikely to hold its indirect election for a new president on Monday as planned, provincial officials say, despite last-minute talks between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and his opponents to arrange the vote.
The country, which has had only limited central government since 1991, is trying to reconstruct itself with the help of the United Nations. It had initially intended to hold its first direct election in more than three decades this year and score a rare victory against chronic instability.
Delays in preparations, and the government’s inability to rein in daily attacks by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents, meant Somalia settled instead for plans for an indirect vote, with elders picking lawmakers who would choose a president.
But now, with just days left to arrange the vote, even that plan appears likely to be postponed, although the government has yet to make an official announcement.
The process of choosing the lawmakers – scheduled for…
