Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 BBC NEWS Somalia leaders reach agreement on re-shaping politics Key Somali leaders have signed a plan to try to end the country's two-decade-long political crisis. The agreement provides for a new, smaller parliament and an upper house of elders. The deal came at a meeting in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, but did not include some key actors. Al-Shabab militants, who control large areas of central and south Somalia, and the self-declared independent state of Somaliland did not take part. Federal state The latest agreement provides the first indication of what Somalis would like to see from this week's key conference in London. For three days Somali leaders had met in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was joined by leaders of the pro-government militia, al-Sunna Wal Jamaaca, and senior officials from another semi-autonomous region, Galmudug. The consultative conference hammered out a blueprint for a future government, to replace the current transitional government, whose mandate expires in August. Somalia would become a federal state, with Mogadishu as the federal capital. The plan envisages: - 225 MPs, halving the existing number - an upper chamber of 54 Somali elders - women would make up 30% of parliament - civil society and "respected women" will nominate and select the women members - parliamentarians will be drawn from Somalia's traditional regions and reflect the nation's clans The Garowe agreement was witnessed by representatives of the international community, including the African Union and United Nations special representative, Augustine Mahiga. Matt Baugh, the British ambassador to Somalia, welcomed the agreement as "a step forward in the political process", but warned that all parties to the plan would have to "deliver on what they have said they are going to do". After so many agreements in recent years, there remains much scepticism among Somali observers about whether this plan can succeed and many details need to be worked out, starting at Thursday's Somali conference in London. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17088433 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 AFP MOGADISHU — Somalia's disparate leaders have agreed on the basic structure of a new parliament and government to replace the fragile transitional body that has failed to bring peace to the war-torn country. Constant infighting, rampant corruption and bloody attacks by Islamist Shebab insurgents have undermined Somalia's unelected Transitional Federal Government (TFG), whose Western-backed mandate ends in August. Somalia's president, the presidents of the breakaway Puntland and Galmudug regions, and the commander of the powerful anti-Shebab militia Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa signed the deal under UN auspices. The accord proposes a parliamentary system for anarchic Somalia, with both Puntland and Galmudug recognised as states within a federal system. A new 225-member lower house -- including at least 30 percent women -- will be nominated by "traditional elders assisted by prominent civil society members," the agreement reads, released late Saturday after a three-day meeting. The agreement is the latest among more than a dozen attempts to resolve Somalia's more than two decade-old civil war, with the country split between rival factions and pirate gangs who hijack ships far across the Indian Ocean. Al-Qaeda allied Shebab fighters, who control large parts of central and southern Somalia where they are battling African Union-backed government forces as well as Kenyan and Ethiopian troops, immediately condemned the deal. "The agreement is treason because it is part of a master plan of the international community to send Somalia back to colonisation," Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told reporters. "The mujahedeen fighters will not accept such conferences and their outcomes -- instead we fight against them and, with the help of Allah, we will win the war," he said. Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, and the leadership in the capital Mogadishu is propped up by a 10,000-strong AU force from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti. In addition, a 1,000-member upper house -- the National Constituent Assembly -- will be nominated by agreement signatories "assisted by traditional leaders and civil society" groups. The upper house too must include at least 30 percent women. "To ensure trust in the federal parliament, members must be patriotic, honest and of good standing in Somali society," the agreement reads, noting that anyone guilty of "serious crime or crimes against humanity" will be barred. "They must respect and uphold the rights of all Somalis and demonstrate tolerance towards all," says the deal, signed in the northern town of Garowe. Upper house members will be selected from a "cross-section of society" including representatives from the youth, businesses, diaspora, religious and traditional leaders and "existing and emerging regional administrations." The deal also recommends "a compensation package" to appease existing lawmakers not selected for the new parliament, many of whom command militia forces. The deal comes ahead of a London conference on Thursday aimed at mobilising international players to tackle Somalia's multiple political and humanitarian crises. Famine zones in Somalia declared by the UN last August were announced to have improved to emergency conditions earlier this month, but despite massive international aid efforts, conditions remain grim. A third of Somalia's population need emergency aid and mortality rates remain among the highest in the world, the UN warns. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 Voice Of America Somalian leaders have concluded a conference in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland with an agreement on the formation of a new elected government. Somalian President Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad and the president of the Puntland regional administration, Abdirahman Farole, both attended the conference, along with international envoys from the United Nations and the African Union. The three-day conference ended early Saturday, with representatives agreeing to set up a bicameral legislature. The lower house is to have 225 seats divided among Somalia's major clans. The upper house will contain representatives from each of Somalia's states. Because new states may yet be created, the number of seats in the upper house has not been finalized. The new parliament is also expected to have a membership of 30 percent women. Somalia is to adopt a constitution before the elections which are to be held within a year. During opening statements of the conference, Puntland's President Farole urged leaders and the Somalian people to reconcile their differences and work together to establish a strong and stable democracy. Somalia has not had a recognized central government since 1991 when rebels took over the country and it spiraled into chaos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 Daily Nation Key Somalia groups have reached an agreement on a number of pending transitional government tasks, including a federal structure for a future government and representation in parliament. Delegates from the presidency, cabinet and the parliament of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government met representatives from the authorities of Puntland, Galmudug and moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea for three days in Garowe town to hammer out a final deal. Garowe is the capital city of the semi-autonomous Puntland state of Somalia and hosted an earlier conference that set out steps to be met as Somalia looks to implement a stabilisation roadmap that would end in elections this year. Sources say the group agreed on the nature of the country's future parliament at the end of the current transitional house before August and implementation of the principles reached at the Garowe I conference held in December 2011. Among the highlights of the deal is that the future parliament would constitute 250 members with at least 50 of these being women. An upper chamber (house of elders) would have a maximum of 54 members. The future federal structure will be based on the 18 regions Somalia had before the collapse of the central government led by the late Gen Mohamed Siad Barre in early 1991. The meeting also agreed on the selection of 1,000 representatives for a constituent assembly that would endorse a draft constitution for Somalia. This assembly would have at least 30 per cent of its members being women. "This accord is going to please all Somalis, in and out of the country," said President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed speaking at the end of the conference. He added that his government could now concentrate on liberating Somalia from Al-Qaeda. Prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and house Speaker Sharif Hassan Aden also signed the deal witnessed by representatives of the international community led by Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, the UN secretary-general's Special Representative to Somalia. The envoy said that he had briefed Mr Ban Ki-moon and the African Union boss Jean Ping on the outcome of the meeting, and both had welcomed the agreement. Most of the signatories flew to London for a major conference on the future of the country to be hosted by British prime minister David Cameron on Somalia starting February 23. Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo was confirmed to have flown from Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway republic, on Saturday for the conference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 Bloomberg Somalia’s leaders agreed to the basic structures of a new government and parliament to replace the current United Nations-backed transitional administration. The country’s future lower house will have 225 members, at least 30 percent of them women, according to a statement issued after a meeting of signatories of the Somali road map -- signed in September on setting up a new government -- in Garowe, Puntland, in northern Somalia, hosted by Puntland State and held under UN auspices. The upper house will be based on the future federal state’s final configuration and have a maximum of 54 members. A national constituent assembly of 1,000 people, with 30 percent women, will be appointed by traditional elders and civil society members, according to the statement. To contact the reporter on this story: Hamsa Omar in Mogadishu via Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalia Posted February 19, 2012 Business Week New York - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday invited Somalia's leaders to engage in “full and timely implementation” of a weekend deal on the future government of the war-ravaged country. Somalia's president, the presidents of the breakaway Puntland and Galmudug regions, and the commander of the powerful anti-Shabaab militia Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa signed the deal on Saturday under UN auspices. The accord signed in the northern town of Garowe proposes a parliamentary system for anarchic Somalia to replace the country's fragile transitional body, with both Puntland and Galmudug recognised as states within a federal system. “The secretary general applauds the spirit of unity and commitment demonstrated by the road map signatories,” the United Nations said in a statement. Ban “particularly welcomes the inclusion of a minimum of 30 percent women in the Independent Electoral Commission, the Constituent Assembly and the new Federal Parliament”, the statement said. “The secretary general looks forward to full and timely implementation of the commitments made. The United Nations stands ready to provide comprehensive support for their implementation,” it said. Ban “looks forward to discussing how the international community can support these agreements at the London Conference on Somalia next week”, it added. The agreement is the latest among more than a dozen attempts to resolve Somalia's more than two decade-old civil war, with the country split between rival factions and pirate gangs who hijack ships far across the Indian Ocean. Al-Qaeda allied Shabaab fighters, who control large parts of central and southern Somalia, where they are battling African Union-backed government forces as well as Kenyan and Ethiopian troops, immediately condemned the deal. “The agreement is treason because it is part of a master plan of the international community to send Somalia back to colonisation,” Shabaab spokesperson Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told reporters. Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, and the leadership in the capital Mogadishu is propped up by a 10 000-strong AU force from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti. - Sapa-AFP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
