UN envoy: Somalia’s leaders must finish elections quickly

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Somalia is urging the country’s political leaders to redouble efforts to ensure that the entire federal Parliament is elected before the end of the year so that presidential elections can be held “as soon as possible.” James Swan told the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that electoral progress has been “slow and uneven” and elections for the vast majority of parliamentary seats haven’t started. He also said electoral security preparations need to be accelerated and a list needs to be published of the 30% of seats reserved for women in the lower House of the People.