MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somalia’s international partners called on the country's National Consultative Council (NCC) Tuesday to ensure that elections are credible and completed soon.   

The move came hours after diplomats met with Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and regional leaders in the capital Mogadishu.

"International partners urge the NCC to ensure that elections are credible and completed soon so Somalia can focus on other priority issues like security and development," UN envoy to Somalia James Swan said on Twitter.

The partners said they encouraged improvements in the execution of the electoral process, including correcting deficiencies in procedural rules and ensuring clear timelines for the rapid completion of credible elections.

A conference between Somalia's leaders including Roble and regional leaders was held in Mogadishu for a second day to find ways out of the current political and election deadlock.

Roble announced earlier Tuesday that his government is committed to concluding parliamentary elections "as soon as possible."

Two of Somalia's presidential candidates which are former presidents -- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed -- called late Tuesday for the “nullification” of all “disputed seats” in the ongoing parliamentary elections

In a statement, the opposition presidential candidates, who last month announced that they had boycotted some of the parliamentary election results due to a lack of transparency and blatant violations in the election process, also called for fresh parliamentary elections.