USA-(Berberanews)-After yet another delay in the parliamentary elections, the US administration has imposed visa restrictions on Somali officials and individuals, accusing them of “undermining the democratic process in Somalia.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the penalties were imposed “to promote accountability for their obstructionist acts” in a statement released by the US Department of State on Friday.
The limitations came just hours after Somali leaders announced that parliamentary elections would be postponed until March 15 after failing to finish them on February 25.
Blinken said, “The delay in the conclusion of Somalia’s elections is driving political instability, threatening security gains, and undermining economic development,”
The elections, which began last November but were postponed due to a series of setbacks, including a lack of agreement on how they would be handled and infighting between the president and prime minister, were intended to take place a year ago.
So far, clan delegates have chosen 179 of the 275 members of the lower house through a complicated procedure of indirect voting. The president will be chosen by these MPs, although the date of the presidential election has not yet been fixed.
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