Voter bribery, delays and intimidation a threat to Somali elections-IC

But continued delays in the voting and reports of corruption and intimidation are now raising serious questions about the integrity and credibility of the process- UN Envoy

The International Community has warned of voter bribery, intimidation of candidates and polls delay. File Photo: UN News Centre

The International community has once again raised the red flag over delayed elections of the Lower House which were set to kick off October 23.

In a joint statement, the UN, US, EU among others further expressed concerns over ‘allegations of corruption in Somalia’s electoral process and reports of recurring intimidation of prospective candidates for parliament, Electoral College delegates and election officials.’

The electoral body FIEIT said last Monday it had started the process of registration for parliamentary candidates who had paid the registration fees. It did not however indicate when the actual voting would start. So far, the voting has not started.

The international community said Sunday it was dismayed the polls body was not able to stick to timelines even after they were revised and a month added.

Continued delays in the voting and reports of corruption and intimidation are now raising serious questions about the integrity and credibility of the process, UN Special envoy Michael Keating said.

“The international community strongly urges all key stakeholders to take urgent steps to preserve the credibility of the country’s electoral process, which should not provide space for manipulation and disruption by spoilers,” read a joint statement.

The partners who also fund 60% of the electoral budget said the increasing cases of intimidation of candidates and voter bribery were posing a risk to the process and adversely affect the result.

This comes as the Electoral Disputes Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM announced Thursday it has received upwards of 1200 complaints within a period of two weeks. The Mechanism however noted some of the complaints were outside its mandate.

“We have received 1,219 disputes between 10 and 26 October 2016. Obviously, this is too much and not all of them fall within our mandate. Our mandate is only to deal with electoral disputes. We have no mandate over clan disputes”, IEDRM chairperson Abdirizak Barre Jama told journalists.

The international community called on the elders, state level electoral bodies to ensure the process is expedited without any further delays.

”The electoral process is reaching a pivotal moment. Somalis have an opportunity to prove to themselves that they can bring about peaceful and legitimate political change,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Michael Keating.

Elections for the Lower House are expected to be concluded by November 10 to pave way for presidential polls slated for November 30.