Row between Guled, Hashi persist as they pick separate poll leaders

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Disputes between two factions claiming control over the election of Somaliland lawmakers to the Federal Parliament are far from over as the two sides dig in again for another round of battles.

The State Indirect Elections Team (SIET) for Somaliland has failed to reconcile differences and unite to conduct elections starting with the Senate polls in two weeks.

A faction led by Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled Saturday appointed Khadar Harir Hussein as its chairman and Najib Hussein Samale its deputy. Hussein was previously a Villa Somalia employee and now a senior official at the National Refugee Agency.

Hours later, the other faction headed by Senate speaker Abdi Hashi held a parallel meeting and appointed Suleiman Aideed Osman as chairman and Abdishakur Abib Hayir deputy.

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Unlike other SIETS, the Somaliland one has 15 members. Three were appointed by the Office of the Prime Minister while the Hashi and Guled sides are made up of six members each.

Professor Abdi Samatar a close ally of Hashi told Goobjoog News the two sides differed over the composition of the SIET and the polling centre. The Mahdi side which has the backing of Villa Somalia ‘wants the elections to be conducted at the police academy in Mogadishu while we want it done at the Airforce Hangar in Afisioni’, Samatar said.

The differences are likely to drag the upcoming elections which start on July 25 with the election of Senators while that of MPs will run from August 10 to September 10.