Erigavo follows Burao to become the second local council to swear-in new members and elect Mayor, As Police in Hargeisa disperse demonstrations in protest against the replacement of newly elected councilors
By: Yusuf M Hasan
ERIGAVO (Somalilandsun) – The newly elected Erigavo local council has assumed office.
Councilor Ismail Haji Nuur has been re-elected Erigavo mayor during the first session of the newly elected local council which also elected Cllr Salah Yusuf Abbase as deputy mayor.
Though the election of the mayor and his deputy was unanimous, the two secured the offices with a majority of only one since ten of the twenty newly elected council members abstained.
Cllr Ismail H Nuur of the Wadani party returns to the mayors’ parlour which he has occupied since 2002 when he was elected councilor on a ticket of UDUB the then ruling party while this is the first time for his deputy Salah Yusuf of the ruling Kulmiye party to play second fiddle.
After their swearing-in the two civic leaders urged Somalilanders to forget about the just concluded local council elections whose results have created disputes and turn their attention to demands for the many election campaign pledges made.
Mayor Ismail Haji Nuur further asked those engaged in creating disharmony among residents of Erigavo town which is the administrative capital of Sanaag region to desist since activities perceived as detrimental to prevailing co-existence shall not only be tolerated but dealt with as per the dictates of the law.
“Elections are over and it is time to resume the paused nation building thus do away with any lingering campaign hang-over’s” said Mayor Ismail
The election of the two civic leaders to run Honcho over the Erigavo local c
]government was termed as legal thus binding by the Governor of Sanaag region Mr. Aden Diriye Egal “Geeljire” who informed that the function was authorized by the interior minister Hon Mohamed Duur Arale in whose docket local government falls.
A similar exercise was held in Burao a day earlier when the 21 newly elected council members of the Toghdeer regional capital elected their oldest Colleague, Cllr Mohamed Muraad as their mayor with his deputy as Councillor Muhumed Ahmed Hasan ‘Hoday’ in a session attended by the full council.
The next mayoral election is anticipated at Borame local council in Awdal region which has so far sworn in its 21 new members thus open the floodgates nationwide.
Meanwhile calm has returned to Hargeisa after riot police managed to disperse demonstrations in protest against the release of the capital city’s disputed local council elections. The demonstrations were in protest against the removal of two councillors from the list of the new 25 member city municipal council after they had been declared winners by the election body on the 6th December.
Despite the overwhelming numbers of the protestors who had managed to take charge of the entire area in the vicinity of Radio Hargeisa, riot police diffused the demonstration without any mishaps as opposed to the 6th & 7th December demonstrations that saw three dead anfd several injured fatally.
It is hoped that the bold move by the Erigavo and Burao councils shall be emulated by the rest of the country’s newly elected local governments in-order to bring the whole tiresome election saga to an end thence avail citizens provision of urgent public services as well as opportunity to resume the pursuit of daily bread regardless of whether the ballot was rigged or not..
