Somali govt will protect security of 2016 polls candidates, Internal Security minister

The Somali Minister of Internal Security, Abdirisaq Omar Mohamed has reiterated the government’s commitment to the safety of political candidates in the upcoming elections.

Mohamed said that he is working in coordination with security forces to keep all candidates safe.

“People who have high risk are given special protection, but they can and they must understand that we are going to emphasize those areas where the situations have previously been determined as the most risk for the candidates.” he said.

Over 14 presidential candidates will be joined the presidential race with the incumbent  president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The moves at a time when Al-Shabaab who wants to overthrow the UN backed government, vowed interrupt the upcoming elections.

Somalia is scheduled to hold a limited franchise election, in which ordinary citizens do not participate.

A UN-sponsored election team recently announced a presidential vote on Oct. 30 and parliamentary elections from Sept. 24 to Oct. 10