ReliefWeb

Press Release 030/2011

(Mogadishu, Sunday 24 April 2011) In a meeting chaired by the Somali Prime Minister, H.E Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the Cabinet addressed the current situation of the country.

After considering the current insecurity in the country;

• Considering the progress made by the Government in the fight against the al-Shabab extremists;
• Cognizant of the progress made in the security, political, financial fields, in addition to the payment of the civil servants and the armed forces, and the need to maintain these achievements;
• Recognizing the difficult situation in the country with the prolonged drought, rising number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the ongoing violence, death and injuries of the civilians, the conflict within the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab extremists and how weak they have become;
• Considering the calls of the countries that contributed troops to the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) as well as that from sections of the International Community and from the Somali people;
• Considering the earlier proposal by the cabinet that the elections of top leadership be postponed for one year so as to maintain the momentum and complete the transitional tasks;
• Appreciating the support by the East African Community Heads of State to the proposal of the Somali cabinet to postpone the elections of the top leadership for one year;

Therefore, the Cabinet;-
1) Decided that the current situation on the ground is not practical to hold elections at this time;
2) Reiterates the earlier Cabinet proposal to postpone the elections until August 2012 in a bid to complete the ongoing security and political initiatives underway;
3) Will continue the consultations it began with the Parliament regarding the Government plans to complete the transitional tasks as called in the Charter and to create a shared understanding on the way forward;
4) Calls on the Somali people as well as the International Community to support their decision.