Kismayu meeting set to announce 2016 polls option put off

The National Consultative Forum which was slated for Kismayu tomorrow has been put off, Goobjoog News has learnt.

There was not however any clear communication regarding the postponement which was expected to unveil the election option for the August polls following a two months public consultation.

However developments at yesterday’s second anniversary of Puntland president Abdiweli Ali Gaas election in Bosaso signaled deep divisions regarding the much anticipated announcement.

In his address yesterday, Gaas stood by his state’s choice for the district based electoral option castigating the clan based 4.5 system as divisive and not representative of the interests of the people of Somalia.

“Puntland supports district based representation and this not only opinion of Puntland but all Somali people. The 4.5 system has harmed this country and has lead to misrepresentation in this country which is struggling to recover from two decades of civil war and anarchy,” Gaas said.

During the consultative process, Puntland and its political ally Jubbaland strongly fronted the district based electoral system as the their preferred choice even as Banaadir, Middle Shabelle/Hiiran, Galmudug and South West states opted for the 4.5 system.

The break-away Somaliland region settled for a 50-50 sharing of power with the rest of the country quoting the Union Agreement in 1961 which brought the two- English Somaliland and Italian Somalia into the greater Republic of Somalia.

The district based option takes utilises the 1991 districts which in total are 92 while the 4.5 draws its origins from the clans distribution. The current parliament was formed out of 4.5 giving the major clans one point each translating to 61 seats while the rest of the minority clans a 0.5 point giving them the remaining 31 slots out of 275.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud yesterday however chose not to wade into the elections circus but instead praised federalism as the best possible choice for Somalia.

“The people of Somalia have acknowledged Federalism is the best path for state building after two decades of conflict which plagued the nation,” said president Mohamud.