Opposition presidential candidates reject new poll procedures

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The Council of Presidential Candidates (CPC) has rubbished the new electoral procedures by Prime Minister Mohamed Roble and regional leaders noting the new directives were an afront to earlier agreements.

Reacting to the communique Sunday by the National Consultative Council, the 15 member opposition outfit said the procedures would not only erode commitments attained so far but also risk further political instability in the country.

The leaders reiterated their earlier proposal for the clan elders to be the only ones selecting delegates. In yesterday’s communication, the NCC tasked clan elders and civil society representatives with the task of selecting the delegates. The final list, NCC said, will be approved by the State Indirect Elections Team (SIET) which is directly appointed by the State leaders.

The recent senate elections which have seen FMS presidents decided the fate of candidates could lend credence to the CPC’s concerns. For CPC, the growing influence of FMS leaders could adversely tilt the scale during the presidential elections and should any of the FMS leaders join the race or yield to a particular candidate, the die could easily be cast.

Each MP will be elected by 101 delegates translating to 27,775 electors.