Somali lawmakers are expected to select the country’s president in a yet-to-be-determined date, notes the Associated Press (AP) and other news outlets.
Nevertheless, Voice of America (VOA), citing a Somali official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reports that the presidential election vote “likely will be Jan. 24.”
The reported number of lawmakers who have been sworn in varies.
Some news outlets, such as Voice of America (VOA), and Abdikarim Haji Abdi, the chief secretary of Somalia’s federal parliament, report that 281 MPs took office during a ceremony on Tuesday, while organizations such as the UN and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) say 283 have been sworn in.
In a joint press statement released Tuesday, the UN, African Union, European Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, express “grave concern” over change “that contravenes the African country’s constitutional electoral processes.”
Nevertheless, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, via Twitter, congratulated the new MPs after they took their oaths of office, saying it is a testament that Somalia “is moving forward,” adding that it is “a positive step in the electoral process.”