国际英语新闻:Somali leader calls for talks to finalize election deal

MOGADISHU, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Farmajo has called for a new round of consultative talks Monday to finalize a deal on the delayed elections.

The two-day talks to be held in the Somali capital Mogadishu comes after a series of consultative meetings between members of the international community and Somali leaders on how to break the current impasse on elections.

Farmajo said the meeting with all signatories of the Sept. 17, 2020 pre-election deal will finalize implementation of the electoral model, built on the work of the technical committee which met in Baidoa in the southwest region on Feb. 15 to 17.

"President Mohamed Farmajo convenes a two days Federal government of Somalia-Federal member states and Benadir Administration leadership elections summit to be held on March 22, 2021 in Mogadishu to finalize implementation of the Baidoa technical committee's recommendations based on Sept. 17, 2020 Electoral agreement for free and fair elections," the presidency said in a statement issued Saturday evening.

Farmajo urged leaders of federal member states and the Benadir region to pay close attention to the Monday conference by addressing the concerns raised on the pre-electoral agreement in order to lead the country to free and fair elections.

Farmajo whose four-year term ended on Feb. 8 has blamed unnamed foreign interventions for the failure of the talks despite his side making compromises and accused Puntland and Jubbaland states of refusing to support the pre-election deal.

The Monday talks also come amid pressure from the international community which has called for immediate resumption of talks to find a way forward for the conduct of delayed elections.