Clan elders gather in Belet Weyne, Somalia’s fifth largest city, for a weekly meeting to discuss various issues affecting their region.
Flickr-AU UN IST Photo / Tobin Jones
Somalia’s big test will be how to marry the social power of the clan system with a democratic future.
Newly elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud waves after he was sworn-in, in the capital Mogadishu, on May 15, 2022.
Photo by Hasan Ali Elmi / AFP via Getty Images
Claire Elder, London School of Economics and Political Science
The international community is opposed to Farmaajo’s term extension because of fears that it’s a power grab consistent with political trends elsewhere in the region.
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, president of Somalia, attends a regional meeting in Ethiopia in 2019.
Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Although polarising, parliament’s move to extend Farmaajo’s term has presented a practical road-map to hold direct elections for the first time since 1969.
Supporters of different Somali opposition presidential candidates protest over delayed elections in Mogadishu on February 19, 2021.
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