Somalia’s electoral body is reluctant to Somaliland Upper House poll, official says

Somalia’s electoral body has been accused of dragging its heels over the holding of elections of Upper House seats allocated for Somalia’s northern regions.

Jama’a Mohamed Ghalib, who is the chairperson of a committee assigned to organise the Upper House elections for Somaliland seats said that Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) has failed set the exact date of the elections of the Upper House.

“We completed the preparation a month ago, we were only waiting for the elections to kick off but it seems that other electoral bodies are reluctant to hold the elections, the delay goes a day after a day,” said Ghalib.

He accused both electoral bodies, FIEIT and State Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (SIEIT) of delaying the election.

“Electoral body led by Omar Mohamed Abdulle (FIEIT) and the other one assigned to oversee election regionally (SIEIT) have failed to give out ballot papers,” said Ghalib.

Somaliland is the only region yet to commence the Upper House electoral process. Jubbaland, HirShabelle, South West State, Galmudug Benadir and Puntland have filled seats allocated to them in the Upper House.

Somaliland which is only region whose elections of Upper and Lower House seats are taking in Somalia’s capital city, Mogadishu was allocated 46 seats in the House of the People and 11 seats in the Upper House.