Leave Somaliland to appoint own poll committee, Hashi tells FGS

The Federal Government has no right to appoint an election committee for Somaliland, Senate speaker Abdi Hashi has said noting the move will compromise the independence of the process.

Hashi told President Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Roble in a letter dated November 1, Hashi said it was not right for the FGS to appoint the committee for Somaliland yet the Federal Member States were allowed to appoint their own.

“The Federal Government does not have the right to appoint a committee for Somaliland as it does not appoint committee members from the federal member states,” the Senate speaker said.

He noted that the 2016 process should be followed which allowed each region including Somaliland to appoint its own state-level elections committee. According to the agreements reached into by president Farmaajo and FMS leaders in September, elections for Somaliland representatives at the Senate and the Lower House will take place in Mogadishu.

The Federal Government was authorised to appoint the Somaliland committee.