AU welcomes Somalia elections

The Africa Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Tuesday said it would work with newly elected Horn of Africa nation’s authorities to help bring unity in the country.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Africa Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Tuesday said it would work with newly elected Horn of Africa nation’s authorities to help bring unity in the country.The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Diarra, also applauded the people of Somalia on the inauguration of a new parliament, the first to be sworn in on Somali soil in over 20 years. "We will continue to work with the new authorities selected by the representatives of the Somali people to ensure that ordinary citizens can go about their daily lives in peace and security,” Diarra said in a statement issued in Nairobi.Some 215 of the total number of 275 members of Parliament were sworn in on Monday at an inauguration ceremony in the capital, Mogadishu, passing the benchmark of 185 which allows for the new Federal Parliament to convene with a functioning majority.However, the newly elected Somali lawmakers resolved to delay the election of the new president of the envisaged permanent government for a few days.