Somali electoral team misses polls deadline

The elections of members of the Lower House were to start off today but the Federal and State electoral bodies are still in a closed meeting in Mogadishu deliberating on what it termed Thursday as teething challenges which could see the polls day pushed forward.

According to a timetable released by the Federal Indirect Elections Implementation Team, FIEIT August, the elections of the Upper House were slated for September 25 while that of the Lower House were to start September 24 and run through to October 10.

But in a statement to newsrooms Wednesday evening, FIEIT said it would meet with chairpersons of the state level electoral teams to iron out challenges ahead of the polls. The polls body said it was facing financial, political and security challenges. It further indicated the elders who are tasked with appointing the delegates had not submitted their final lists.

The electoral body told Goobjoog News Friday evening it would issue communication on the way forward Saturday.

Finnish based political analyst Mohamed Alim has told Goobjoog News the prospects of holding the elections this year are almost negligible pointing to January 2016 as most probable.

“It was clear from the start that elections could not be held this year. If we needed to ensure the elections are held this year as anticipated by the electoral teams, then we should have finalized the process by June this year,” said Alim.

A delay in parliamentary elections will automatically influence that of the president which is scheduled for October 30, contends Alim.

In a letter to the National Leadership Forum this month seen by Goobjoog News, UN chief for Somalia Michael Keating warned the President’s stay in Villa Somalia must come to an end in November 6 this year.

“The NLF should agree on a clear date when the mandate of the President/the executive comes to an end. We propose that this should be no later than one week after the envisaged date of the Presidential election (30 October), i.e. 6 November 2016,” Keating said.