Somalilandsun: As Somaliland gears for the 31st May 2021 Parliamentary and local Councils elections the saga surrounding the arrest of five opposition party’s sponsored candidates is now a foregone conclusion.
This follows a Maroidi-jeeh regpnal court unconditional release of candidates Abdillahi Hasan Hirsi and Abdirahman Yusuf Ali of the UCID party and Qasim Adan Suleiman of Wadani party respectively.
The Saga of the trio’s arrest and revelation that police were in pursuit of two others all women had caused alot of acrimonious among main political stakeholders in the country.
While the police furnished proof of reasons behind the arrests the three and pursuit of the the other two , the government and opposition parties remained divided.
For the government and including the position of ruling Kulmiye party , Somaliland laws were to be respected by all including candidates in the elections.
As for the opposition parties of UCID and Wadani the arrests were politically and not legal motivated thus a misuse of state machinery to advance the prospects of ruling Kulmiye candidates.
As the dispute escalated a statement by Somaliland national elections commission- NEC warned that arresting bonafide candidates was illegal for the constitution grants them immunity.
As the government reminded adamant on the pursuit of prosecution mainly on charges of treason, opposition Wadani revealed plans to sue a Kulmiye oarty candidate for similar charges, treason
First who were the candidates now free.
1. Qasim Adan Suleiman candidate for parliament in Sool region on a Wadani party ticket. Crime being chairman of Habar Gidir clan in London
2. Abdirahman Yusuf Ali a Maroodi-jeeh region parliamentary candidate on an UCID ticket. Crime of meeting with top Somalia politicians.
3. Abdilahi Hirsi Hassan, a Berbera Local council candidate on an UCID ticket
And on the run now also free
4. Anab Abdi Hirsi a candidate for Parliament in Sool region on an UCID ticket. Crime vying for elections in both Somaliland and Somalia and
5. Kubra HHasan Mahmud, a Wadani party parliamentary candidate in the Togdheer region. Crime travelling to Mogadishu and meeting with Somalia president Farmajo
While he UCID candidates were faced with a lesser charge of falsifying their testimonials those from Wadani were facing charges of Treason.
Read; Police provide damning evidence against 5 opposition parties candidates
With things on the standoff while pleas were made for intervention by both local and foreign stakeholders in the Somaliland democratization process, Wadani came up with a major coup.
At a media briefing in Hargeisa the Wadani information secretary Mahmud Abdi Jama ‘Huto’ threw a bombshell.
“our party is going to sue a Kulmiye party parliametray candidate for treason’ said Huto.
The candidate is Abdirahman Haji Ismail who is aspiring for a parliamentary seat representing Maroodi-jeeh region on a Kulmiye
According to Huto the candidate had served the Somalia government in Mogadishu for eight years.
This was a big slap on the face for the government case and ruling party position since the alleged crime of their candidate was in tandem with those of three .
It cannot be forgotten that a two year sentenced of military officer found guilty of treason had been rescinded a day earlier.
The Maroidi-jeeh regional court which threw out the case against the opposition candidates had also released Col Jama Dolaal after serving almost a month for treason.
Now that the banter over traitorous tendencies of candidates and counter accusations is over it is expected that NEC shall have a clean path to oversee three weeks of campaign that lead to the 31st May Somaliland parliamentary and local Councils elections in which
Over 1.200.000 people are expected to cast their votes at 1642 polling station in six parliamentary and 23 local Councils electoral constituencies for close to a thousand candidates
So why did the prosecution capitulate was it due to some powerful intervention or did saner minds on all sides prevail?
