Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Somalian Government on the recent presidential elections in that country.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office engaged with the Federal Government of Somalia and electoral authorities throughout the recent parliamentary and presidential electoral process, emphasising the importance of it being transparent, credible and safe; and that commitments to make the process more inclusive, including increasing female representation, were respected. The recent electoral process should be seen as a stepping stone to one person one vote elections in four years time.