ICG on Somalia - August 20th

Somalia: From Troubled Transition to a Tarnished Transition?

Nairobi/Brussels  |   20 Aug 2012

The term of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions has expired, and there is no new president to take office as envisaged. The current political process has been as undemocratic as the one it seeks to replace, with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation. The end of the transition roadmap process – that is supposed to usher in an inclusive political dispensation – may fail to bring stability. Convening an incomplete parliament and electing a contested, tainted leadership in Somalia’s polarised political environment could easily unravel the painstaking humanitarian, political and security progress made in the past three years. The extremist Islamist movement Al-Shabaab is down but not out, and it is evolving, and plots to take advantage of the resulting chaos to regain power.

To prevent this from happening, the international community should now focus on ensuring the final stages of the roadmap’s implementation are not rigged by its signatories and technical selection committee (charged with vetting individuals nominated for parliament), and that the new leaders and institutions in Mogadishu create a foundation for national unity rather than an acrimonious “winner-takes-all” outcome.

Read the International Crisis Group's statement here:

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2012/africa/somalia-from-troubled-transition-to-a-tarnished-transition.aspx