Off the wire
• China Hushen 300 index futures open mixed Thursday  • China treasury bond futures open higher Thursday  • Feature: Argentineans welcome new year with typical ways  • FACTBOX: Development of China's transport network  • Chinese shares open lower Thursday  • China's high-speed rail on fast track in technology innovation and application  • 1st Ld: China white paper details goals for more efficient transport network  • China to build more high-speed railways in five years: white paper  • Full Text: Development of China's Transport (7)  • China issues white paper on transport development  
You are here: 　 Home

UN chief welcomes inauguration of Somali parliament

Xinhua, December 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday welcomed the inauguration of new federal parliament of Somalia, while urging the parliament to maintain the momentum to complete the electoral process.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban asked the parliament to tackle urgent legislative priorities, including establishing a permanent Constitution of Somalia.

He also called on the authorities to quickly fill all remaining vacant seats in the parliament and ensure that the seats reserved for women are filled by women.

"Any irregularity, abuse, or malpractice reported by the federal and state electoral bodies should be fully addressed to preserve the credibility of the process," said Ban in the statement.

A total of 284 new members of the lower and upper house of the Somali federal parliament were sworn in on Tuesday in the capital Mogadishu.

The swearing-in of the new parliament came after a number of delays in the country's electoral process. The Members of Parliament are expected to elect a new president in January. The presidential election which was previously set for September has been postponed four times. Endi