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East African bloc urges peaceful vote in Somalia

Xinhua, February 8, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, on Wednesday called for a peaceful vote as Somali lawmakers vote for a state president.

IGAD said it looked forward to continued cooperation and collaboration with the upcoming federal government in its tenure and beyond, according to a statement released ahead of the crucial vote.

"IGAD commends Somalia for the efforts and commitment despite the numerous challenges towards establishing a secure, peaceful and prosperous Somalia," the statement said.

IGAD, which groups Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, said its members have played an important role in providing political, financial, technical and logistical support toward peace, security and political development of Somalia including the electoral processes.

The 329 Somali parliament members from both houses will vote for the head of state in an election where a candidate might get two-thirds of the votes to win outright in the first round.

The election, which was originally scheduled for October 2016, had been delayed several times. Endi