索马里新议会开始举行第一次会议

Somalia's new parliament begins its work Monday, as the country moves closer to completing a complex plan to establish a stable, permanent government.

A selection committee has named about 220 lawmakers for the 275-seat body, but officials say that is enough for the parliament to convene.

The lawmakers are expected to vote for a new Somali president within the coming days.

Monday is the deadline for the election of a speaker of parliament and a president under a United Nations-backed roadmap to end the country's 8-year transitional government.

U.N. officials and international partners issued a joint statement Sunday, saying Somalia has an "uNPRecedented opportunity for greater peace and stability."