“The announcement of election results is the responsibility of NEC”
“This Court shall only judge on cases submitted by candidates”
Judge Abdirashid M Duran
By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The election results dispute has landed back in the lap of the National Election Commission-NEC
The Marodi regional court has rejected a request to arbitrate the disputed local election results for the Hargeisa municipality submitted by NEC three days ago.
According to the Geeska newspaper the Marodi jeeh regional court refused to act as arbitrator in the dispute between NEC and some of the political parties that contested the 28th November local council elections.
The presiding Judge at the regional court based in Hargeisa Abdirashid Mahmud Duran is reported to have rejected the NEC because the election body did not follow proper procedures as established by the law.
The Geeska newspaper report which the paper claims to have secured clandestinely indicates that Judge Duran made the intercession rejection through a communiqué to NEC boss Commissioner Isse Hamari.
“I hereby inform you that this court will not intercede in the election results dispute because your commission did not follow proper legal procedures pertaining to the election laws of the country”
While informing Commissioner Isse Hamari that the announcement of election results was in the realm of NEC and not that of the courts, Judge Duran further informed that the court shall only entertain individual election related cases submitted by candidates or their sponsoring political parties.
The dispute rebound back to NEC puts it in a quagmire since the recount decision originated from the commission which was forced to appeal for the court’s intervention after it failed to reach an agreement with some political parties that insisted on a nationwide recount as opposed to NEC’s offer for a Hargeisa only vote review.
It is not yet clear which direction NEC will take next considering that the Head of state H.E Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo
The refusal by the court to settle the matter of the disputed election results puts NEC in a quandary considering that the aggrieved parties led by Haqsoor remain adamant on the scope of vote review while the Head of state H.E Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo has already issued succinct instructions to the commission as per the release of factual election results tally.
