Face covering not allowed during voting, polls body warns candidates and delegates

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Candidates running for the Lower House and delegates will not be allowed to cover their faces during voting, the Federal Elections Indirect Team (FEIT) has warned.

The elections body said it would bar candidates who conceal their faces noting such actions undermined the credibility of the elections.

“The Federal Elections Indirect Team (FEIT) would like to inform all candidates running for the Lower House that it will not be acceptable for a candidate to cover his or her face, in order to maintain the transparency of the country’s elections,” FEIT said in a statement.

The directive follows uproar during the Somaliland Senate elections when most of the delegates covered their faces with masks or clothes to conceal their identity.

Sources said the delegates from Somaliland who are based in Mogadishu may have done so to avoid being tracked by authorities in the break-away region who are opposed to the elections.

Somaliland said then it had identified the delegates and would be prosecuting them should they return home.

Elections for the Lower House are expected to kick off in various polling centres as from this week.