YOL/Washington 

A number of Somali activists demonstrated in front of the Somali embassy today in the American capital, Washington, calling on the US government to intervene to protect democracy in their country, considering that Somalia is going through a stifling political crisis on the brink of a civil war in the absence of a true legitimate government, which raises fears of a return to armed conflicts.

The demonstrators in front of the Somali embassy in Washington called on the United States and the international community to know their responsibilities towards this country, which suffers from collapse due to a lack of trust between politicians and some of them ... chanting anti-government slogans and demanding that the international community have an important role to solve the crisis since Somalia mainly depends on foreign aid. In light of a constitutional crisis due to the postponement of the elections, the government is intransigent in fulfilling its obligations.

Somali human rights activist Ali Chengal said that the situation in the country is not a good thing, and fears are increasing day after another of the retreat of anti-terrorism efforts, especially after the United States abandoned and withdrew its forces from Somali lands, expressing his optimism about the new US administration led by President Biden to restore matters to normal and the need to confront Al-Shabaab Associated with al-Qaeda in the northeast of the country.

It is noteworthy that Somalia is in a state of political vacuum, especially after the opposition leaders announced their intention not to recognize the legitimacy of President Muhammad Abdullah Farmajo after the end of his term without reaching a political agreement on a path leading to new presidential elections.

It’s good to mention that the elections in this country in the Horn of Africa, which were to be held in February, have been postponed indefinitely, raising fears of the return of armed opposition.

Is Somalia in a political vacuum?

There are a lot of uncertainties. Somalia had to wait for the outcome of its elections but nothing went as hoped. The February 8 meeting failed to find a compromise to organize a poll on the said date. A consensus was indeed found last September on a voting system, an extremely complex issue in Somalia and fundamental because the vote remains indirect.

The application of the text, which had led to a first postponement of the election supposed to be held in November, finally stumbled on the last details and on the opposition between the federal government sitting in Mogadishu, which showed a real bad faith, and those of regional states, including autonomous Puntland and Jubaland. “This failure is mainly due to the lack of confidence between the various Somali politicians”, says Omar Mahmood, researcher for the International Crisis Group (ICG) analysis center.