Somalia leaders agree on key transitional government deal

Key Somalia groups have reached an agreement on a number of pending transitional government tasks, including a federal structure for a future government and representation in parliament.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Key Somalia groups have reached an agreement on a number of pending transitional government tasks, including a federal structure for a future government and representation in parliament.Delegates from the presidency, cabinet and the parliament of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government met representatives from the authorities of Puntland, Galmudug and moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea for three days in Garowe town to hammer out a final deal.Garowe is the capital city of the semi-autonomous Puntland state of Somalia and hosted an earlier conference that set out steps to be met as Somalia looks to implement a stabilisation roadmap that would end in elections this year.Sources say the group agreed on the nature of the country's future parliament at the end of the current transitional house before August and implementation of the principles reached at the Garowe I conference held in December 2011Among the highlights of the deal is that the future parliament would constitute 250 members with at least 50 of these being women.