Somaliland polls body sets presidential vote for Nov 2024, affirms Bihi’s two year-extension

GOOBJOOG NEWS| HARGEISA: Somaliland will elect a new President in November next year effectively handing President Muse Bihi seven years in office, the electoral commission has declared. President Bihi came to office on December 13, 2017 for a term of five years.

The Somaliland National Elections Commission (SLNEC) announced Monday that elections for a new president will happen on November 13, 2024, following a verdict issued by the Constitutional Court on the matter.

SLNEC said the decision was guided by a ruling of the Constitutional Court on July 10 which observed that elections for political parties will precede that of a president. The Commission declared that elections for political parties will therefore take place on December 28 this year to determine the three parties which shall be eligible for elective politics in Somaliland.

It noted that the tenure of the three registered parties-Kulmiye, UCID and Waddani lapsed last December paving the way for the registration of new parties. Somaliland constitution caps the number of political parties at three for a period of ten years.

In the December exercise, 10 more political associations will contest alongside the existing three to for the top three positions.

Somaliland Upper House (Guurti) voted last December to extend its term and that of the President for two years sparking protests from the opposition.