No deal for Roble as Deni remains adamant over poll impasse

By T. Roble

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU:     Attempts by Prime Minister Mohamed Roble to resolve the ongoing electoral row with Puntland hit a snag Saturday after president Abdullahi Deni stuck to his guns and set out conditions for participating in the electoral process.

The meeting which was the first major assignment for Roble whose term in office is fast running out came a cropper amidst a tough stance by Jubbaland and Puntland both of which have given the Federal Government a cyclical headache.

According to sources privy to the talks, Deni put forth three demands before he can appoint a State Interim Elections Team (SIET). First, Deni vouched for his political ally Ahmed Madobe calling for the withdrawal of federal troops deployed by Farmaajo early in the year in Gedo region.

Madobe has made the withdrawal a condition for elections to take place in Gedo and by extension declined to name Jubbaland’s SIET. South West, Galmudug and HirShabelle states, all of which are led by presidents installed by Mogadishu have since named their respective electoral teams.

DOUBLE-SPEAK

In what could expose Deni for doublespeak, he called on Farmaajo to recompose the federal level elections team (FIET) echoing calls by opposition groups and civil society which have both decried the FIET appointment as ‘compromised’. They contend that Farmaajo has appointed security chiefs, intelligence officials and senior civil servants to the team.

A caucus of 14 presidential candidates meeting in Mogadishu late last month also pointed fingers at Puntland and Jubbaland for fidelity to Farmaajo’s script in appointing their SIET teams.

In the talks Saturday in Garowe, Deni also demanded the Federal Government reconstitutes the Somaliland SIET which has become an issue of contention also by opposition groups. Senate speaker Abdi Hashi has since appointed a parallel team for Somaliland but as things stand, Farmaajo, who has the resources and wherewithal has gone ahead to retain his teams.

But failure by Roble to reach a deal with Deni would mean another failure with Jubbaland as the two easterly and southerly states respectively are conjointly up in arms against Mogadishu.

Elections of MPs were to start December 10 while that of Senators were to conclude the same day having kicked off on December 1 according to an electoral time table drawn by Farmaajo and FMS leaders in Mogadishu September.