UN chief welcomes Somalia's decision on electoral model for 2016

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon on Thursday welcomed the decision by the Federal Government of Somalia on a model for the electoral process to establish a new, bicameral Federal Parliament in 2016, said a statement from Ban's spokesman.

"He (Ban) congratulates the Somali leadership on this decision, which paves the way to a timely transition at the expiry of the current institutions' term," said the statement.

Ban particularly applauded the commitment to representation of women and minority groups, including that women will comprise 30 percent of the next Parliament, in line with the Mogadishu Declaration of December 2015, it said.

The Secretary-General noted that Thursday's announcement follows broadly-based consultations with Somali regional administrations, parliamentarians, traditional elders, and civil society. "This is in itself a signal of Somalia's progress in peace-building and state building," said the statement.

He also urged all parties to support timely implementation of the 2016 process, in a spirit of national unity and compromise, it said.

Moreover, Ban reiterated the urgency of establishing a political roadmap towards universal suffrage in Somalia by 2020, to ensure continued momentum in the country's transition to democracy.

According to Michael Keating, UN envoy for Somalia, the model of the country's elections includes a 275-member lower house based on the power-sharing among clans and a 54-member upper house based on equal representation of existing, emerging and prospective federal states, plus additional seats for Puntland and Somaliland. Endit