Political leaders announce call to protestsBy: Yusuf M Hasan

HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – 7 disqualified political groups have called upon their supporters to participate in demonstrations in protest against the Political Parties Registration & Verification Committee-PPR&VC.

The call for protests came after leaders of eight political groups disqualified as contestants in forthcoming local council elections said they no longer recognize the PPR&VC thus noncompliance with any of the committee's decisions.

In a joint press conference the groups called upon their supporters nationwide to participate in three days of mass protests against the PPR&VC which they termed as a stooge thus operating under orders of its hidden masters.

BADBADO group which had participated in the meeting that decided on mass protests later recanted its intent to show disapproval through the proposed demonstrations thus 7 groups which stand steadfast in their decisions

The 7 groups that have vowed to participate in the proposed three days mass demonstrations against the PPR&VC are UDHIS, NDB, NUUR, DAMAL, GURMAD, JAMHURIYA and SSCD, while BADBADO has withdrawn while HORYAAL has already denounced the demos decision.

The UDHIS leader Mr. Ibrahim Abdilahi Hussein Dagaweyn said that the PPR&VC has lost its legitimacy thus an urgent and imperative need to ensure that a suitable committee takes over in-order to make amends before things spiral out of control. He asked Somalilanders and more specifically supporters of the 8 groups to take to the streets as a show of their distaste with the committee.

Prof Abdisalam Yasin said that they no longer recognize the authority of the PPR&VC since it has lost its legitimacy after it contravened its oath of office. He said that only citizens can put things right again thus the call to supporters to participate in three days of mass protest beginning from Monday 22nd April.

A very agitated Ahmed Sandoon said that the decision by the PPR&VC was a mockery especially as it pertained to his JAMHURIYA group which had merged with NUUR and DAMAL prior to the start of the exercise, a merger very well known to the PPR&VC.

He wondered how the PPR&VC could ignore the merger which was not only known to it but by the country thus its decision to turn a blind eye to the merger and consider disqualify them individually. Ahmed Sandoon who is a councillor in the Hargeisa municipality said the decision by the PPR&VC was not binding. He called upon his supporters nationwide to be in the forefront of demonstrations.

M/s Fozia leader of the NDB and sole woman flag bearer termed the PPR&VC as a body that has not only lost sense of direction but the legitimacy to hold office on behalf of Somalilanders. She said that her party had fulfilled all conditions set and wondered which criteria the PPR&VC used to disqualify not her NDP party but the others as well. She asked her supporters nationwide to participate in the three days of demonstrations as a show of protests against the unjust decision

With daggers drawn and lines of confrontations clearly defined the government is yet to reveal its position and subsequent actions that will entail either banning the demonstrations, thus head on confrontations or disbanding the current PPR&VC thus automatically rescinds its disqualification of the 9.