An alliance of Somali opposition leaders has announced they no longer recognise President Mohamed Farmajo as the head of state, as his mandate officially ended on February 8th.

Previous talks between representatives of the federal states and the central government in Dusamareb had failed to produce a political agreement.

“We no longer recognize Farmajo as President. His term has ended and he is not only an obstacle to the nation but to national elections as well. He couldn’t reach a deal with the regional leaders because he left the meeting on the elections, he can no longer be in charge as his tenure is over“, said Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, a Somali presidential candidate.

Farmajo and the leaders of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous federal states reached an agreement in September that paved the way for indirect parliamentary and presidential elections in late 2020 and early 2021.

But it fell apart as squabbles erupted over how to conduct the vote, and last-minute talks to salvage the agreement collapsed Friday.