Puntland President Will Not Attend Istanbul Conference, But Will Instead Head To Washington

Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas will not be attending the Istanbul conference, according to sources Puntland presidential palace.

He is instead heading to Washington DC, where he lived for more than 20 years and taught at a local university.

Gaas, who is currently in Addis Ababa, held talks with Ethiopian Foreign minister and other officials.

Sources close to the Puntland presidency in Garowe say it was improbable for Gaas to attend the Istanbul conference  on Somalia during this week.

Puntland head of state had earlier rejected the decision from National Consultative Forum in Mogadishu which arrived at the electoral model for the country.

Gaas maintains Puntland won’t accept to take part in elections using the 4.5 power sharing model.

Though there was no official statement from Puntland on the Istanbul conference, the much-discussed issue is the Gaas’ heading to Washington.

The Istanbul conference is destined to discuss a host of electoral-related issues. It will be attended officials from the Somali federal government, civil society members and officials from the international community.

Recently, an International Community delegation visited Garowe to convince the northeastern administration to accept the outcome of the Mogadishu consultative forum, but the meetings ended without fruitful results.