Somali presidential candidates reject lower house electoral procedures
MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Union of Presidential Candidates in Somalia [UPC] rejected electoral procedures recently prepared for the lower house elections, calling them “unconstitutional”, which could delay ongoing preparations for elections in the country.
In a statement, the union rejected new procedures that will govern the polls calling them “unconstitutional” and against the May 27 agreement, which stipulates that the 135 elders serve as the basis for the selection of delegates in the country.
The candidates also rejected the decision to hand the electoral process over to FMS leaders, adding that the new procedures contradicted the constitution and the May 27 accord. They warned of the consequences of the voting process in the lower house.
They added that the elections are not going in the right direction as political leaders have changed all agreed terms of the electoral deal.
Former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also said the opposition would not accept the lower house elections, arguing that they would be biased in favor of someone. He called for free and fair elections in Somalia in accordance with the constitution and the May 27 electoral accord.
The former president also reminded FGS-FMS leaders that letting the electoral process be mismanaged can have negative consequences. “There is no person you trust but a system,” said the former president, who served from 2012 to 2017 when the country implemented the federal system.
FMS leaders and the Union of Presidential Candidates called an emergency meeting in Mogadishu shortly after presidential candidates objected to LH MPs’ procedures for holding elections in the country.
Earlier, Wadajir party leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame had cut holes in Lower House procedures, arguing that the ballot boxes should not be needed, arguing that recent senatorial elections proved there was no need polls in the country.
“A friend of mine who is responsible for the international community told me that the ballot boxes they gave Somalia are wasted because no votes were taken in the senatorial elections. I do not expect the protocols that were signed today. [Sunday] will require ballot boxes, “he argued.
The latest twist could derail the implementation of the electoral exercise, which has already started in some states. However, a number of states have yet to hold senatorial elections, which were due to start on July 25 of this year.
Later in October, Senators and Members of Parliament will participate in the elections for the President. Current president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo was supposed to run for re-election in February when his term expires.
AXADLETM
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