Somalia’s intl. partners call on Somali political leaders to build on positive aspects of Dhusamareb discussions

Mogadishu – International partners* welcome the efforts made by Somali political leaders to find agreement on implementation of the 17 September electoral model.  The talks held in Dhusamareb February 1 – 6 made progress on many important points, but did not reach consensus on all outstanding issues.  We believe that it remains possible to reach consensus, and that all sides are open to further discussions.  We call upon Somalia’s leaders to resume their dialogue urgently to reach final agreement permitting national elections to take place as soon as possible.

We listened with interest to the address of the President to the House of the People on 6 February, and noted in particular his stated willingness to continued discussions between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States aimed at identifying an agreed way forward for the holding of elections.  We strongly support further dialogue in a calm and constructive spirit.  We once again underscore that any alternative outcomes, including a parallel process or partial elections, or any other actions that lack broad agreement, would not obtain the support of partners.

We call on Somalia’s political leaders to build on the positive aspects of the Dhusamareb discussions, and continue to work together to agree implementation of elections in the national interest.

* African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, European Union (EU), Finland, France, Germany, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, League of Arab States (LAS), Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russian Federation, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, and the United Nations.