Somalia’s electoral team has set new dates for parliamentary and presidential polls after failing to meet the September 24 deadline.
The parliamentary election will take place between October 23 and November 10 and the presidential poll on November 30.
Presidents of the existing and emerging federal member states will be asked to submit the names of candidates for the upper house of the federal parliament by October 5.
The chairman of the electoral commission announced the new dates saying the vote was delayed for a second time due to disputes over the selection process. The election of the president had been slated for October 30.
The Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) cited political challenges, security, management of the electoral budget and lack of a dispute resolution mechanism.
“Although substantial progress has been achieved on the electoral process, it seems some of the tasks cannot be completed based on the planned schedule,” chairperson Omar Abdulle said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Some traditional elders have not yet completed submission of a list of delegates.”
But the FIEIT announced a breakthrough on the electoral venue for the Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions.
This followed negotiations with traditional elders representing the two regions; 16 out of 18 elders agreed the electoral process should take place in the capital Mogadishu.