By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – “For a number of Technical reasons elections slated in Somaliland mid this year are untenable.
This was stated by the National Election Commission-NEC during a press bring in Hargeisa where they proposed 26th June 2016 as polls date.
At the briefing that had the seven NEC Commissioners in attendance the body’s Chair Eng Abdulqadir Iman Warsame said “The presidential and parliamentary slated for June 2015 are no longer feasible due to a number of technical reasons”
NEC justified the apparent move to postpone the polls exercise for a year due to some technical and legal factors mainly that
• NEC can only be able to complete voter registration latest by December 2015 and
• The country’s registration and election laws still require some amendments by legislators
The Commission thus attributed the proposed the one year postponement to the constitutional dictates which stipulate that Elections can only be held six months after a voter’s register has been compiled and verified.
The Election body which is meeting with legislators at Somaliland parliament’s House of Representatives also revealed that it had met with president Silanyo a day earlier as well as the three national political parties.
If all goes as per NEC recommendations president Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo will as is law submit to parliament’s upper chamber of Guurti, a request for extension of his June expiring administration’s tenure for a year.
On the issue of areas where NEC proposes to conduct the exercise on their slated date Commissioner Abdulqadir sad that new polls locations are Las Anod and Taleeh Districts in Sool and Haysimo regions respectively where Somaliland elections have never taken place due to some political strife now solved.
“We are in consultation with Police and Army commanders as per security of these new electoral districts where the commission in partnership with the three national political parties of UCID, Wadani and Kulmiye shall embark on a broad based awareness raising campaign prior to balloting.
Keep watching this site for outcome of the meeting between NEC and House of Representatives as well as reaction of opposition political parties, if any.
Watch the Somali language NEC Press Briefing
