GAROWE, Somalia: Nearly a third of Somalia’s parliamentary seats will be reserved for female lawmakers in an election next month, the prime minister said, a measure long demanded by women’s rights campaigners in the Horn of Africa nation.
While welcoming Saturday’s announcement by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, some women’s groups cautioned that implementing the measure in time for the Feb. 8 poll would be challenging and depended on the commitment of clan leaders.
Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991, and due to the fragile security situation, elections consist of clan delegates choosing members of parliament as opposed to a one-person, one-vote electoral system.
Roble made the quota pledge after talks with female lawmakers — who currently hold 24 percent of the 329 seats in Somalia’s lower and upper houses of parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Ensuring that clan leaders nominate enough women representatives will be vital to securing the full 30 percent quota, women’s activists said.
Somali PM reserves 30% of parliament seats for women in upcoming poll
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Somali PM reserves 30% of parliament seats for women in upcoming poll
- Roble made the quota pledge after talks with female lawmakers — who currently hold 24 percent of the 329 seats in Somalia’s lower and upper houses of parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
