The regional state leaders’ meeting at the Airport Hotel inside Aden Adde International Airport ended without a deal last night as they were in disagreement over details.
This Third meeting, in a series of meetings which started a few days ago, would have made good progress on sensitive issues.
However, the parties are still at odds over the conference, especially the attendance, agenda and power of the president.
Saïd Deni and Ahmed Madobe insist that members of their new National Salvation Forum attend the conference while their counterparts argue that only the signatories of the September 17 accord should be there.
After several hours of negotiations, attempts were made to overcome these obstacles and issues, but it was reported that the meeting broke down and ended in failure.
These meetings would pave the way for a general electoral conference, in which the federal government, regional governments and the Benadir region should participate.
A consultative meeting was scheduled to open on Tuesday, and any challenges to the conference would have been resolved before that date.
The conference, which was due to take place earlier, has been delayed again, with separate meetings and efforts underway to reach agreement on the dispute over the conference.
Meanwhile, some leaders have expressed concern about the parliament set to meet on Wednesday because they fear it will extend the federal government’s tenure.
Before the end of the meeting, the leaders of these five states in the region met with representatives of the international community to find a solution to the challenges facing the elections and the importance of reaching a consensus on the holding of peaceful elections. and mutually acceptable.
Internationally, there was the United States Ambassador to Somalia, the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, the African Union Envoy in Somalia, the UK Ambassador and other officials.
This intervention did not help bringing both groups together but reinforced the position of the regional leaders who are stalling the negotiation of the electoral process.
