Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has said that his dispute with President Mohamed Farmajo will not affect plans for long-delayed elections.

“We are committed to holding the elections as planned and other existing matters will not have any effect on the elections," Mr Roble told a visiting UN delegation led by Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed.

The dispute between Mr Roble and Mr Farmajo, sparked by the government’s handling of a missing spy’s case, has raised fears that Somalia’s electoral process could suffer further setbacks.

The Horn of Africa nation is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections between 1 October and 25 November.

On Sunday, the UN deputy chief met Mr Roble and Mr Farmajo and urged them to avoid any moves that “could lead to violence and further delay the elections or undermine its credibility”.

The leaders of Somalia’s South West and Galmudug regional states have launched efforts to defuse the tensions between the president and premier.