MOGADISHU, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Somalia’s electoral commission said on Thursday the Horn of Africa country will hold a presidential election on May 15 next year.
• President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term was due to end in May this year, but in March lawmakers voted to enact constitutional changes that potentially extend his term by a year, a move that drew criticism from the opposition.
• Mohamud’s government has struggled to defeat the al Qaeda-allied militant group al Shabaab, which has been fighting Somalia’s central government for two decades.
• While the military, backed by an African Union peacekeeping mission, has pushed back the militants, al Shabaab still controls vast areas of the countryside and has the ability to conduct regular strikes on major population centres.
• The electoral body’s chairperson, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, made the announcement on the state broadcaster and added that the country would also hold elections for members of parliament for both the lower and upper chambers on April 15.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
