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Contributions from the Column Facts and trends
World Bank Board endorses
management response
A parliament for Somalia
Common Code for the
Coffee Community
Corruption: World Bank sanctions Acres Ltd.
Development policy
and terrorism
Peaceworkers wanted
Lending guidelines overhauled
Wieczorek-Zeul pledges
German assistance
Bad marks for the IMF
 10/2004
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A parliament for Somalia
Somalia has crossed an important hurdle on the road to peace and stability. In early September, the new national assembly, agreed upon in January by the main clan leaders and President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan's transitional government, was inaugurated in Nairobi, Kenya. The new parliament has 275 members, all but 12 of whom were sworn in at the time of the opening meeting. The four biggest Somali clans have been allocated 61 deputies each, the smaller ones share the remaining 31 seats. One of the tasks of the new assembly is to elect a president, who will in turn appoint a prime minister. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the European Union and the US government welcomed the opening of the parliament, which owes much to the persistent brokering of the East African regional organisation IGAD. (ell)
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