Somaliland: President Siilaanyo lauds political parties on election re-schedule

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Siilaanyo, lauded the three national political parties on the common stand they have adopted on re-scheduling the March-slated presidential elections.

“The mature stand you have taken today to reschedule the elections previously slated for March 2017 to 10 October 2017 re-affirms this nation’s unity in the face of adversity,” the President said. “You have shown compassion to the drought-afflicted populations of Somaliland as you have demonstrated, too, that we are one unit when it comes to national issues despite your political differences and approaches”.

The President emphasized, now that a new date was set for the forthcoming elections, that it was of utmost urgency that all efforts be directed towards emergency drought relief efforts in order to save and help the beleaguered populations weather over the trying times.

“We are obliged to channel all efforts to help alleviate the decapitating conditions under people direly affected by the drought are belaboring”, he said.

The parties also agreed that parliamentary and Municipal Councils’ elections will be conducted concurrently on 10 October 2018.

Decisions reached will go through the prescribed, legal channels to become fully official. The Somaliland House of Elders, Guurti, is mandated to officially set extension terms as the parties’ postponement of election date implies an extension of term of office to the government despite the repeated protestations of the incumbent president to such an eventuality.

The announcement was made at the end of a meeting in which the leaders of Somaliland’s three political parties of Kulmiye, Waddani, and UCID met at the Presidency to iron out their divergent views on a new date for the presidential elections. The two opposition parties of Waddani and UCID maintained all along that it was imperative that elections be postponed for a further six months where Kulmiye, the ruling party, was adamant of non-interference with the afore-signed date as concurred by the Constitutional Court.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) participated in this latest meeting of the parties as an observer as the decision to arrive at a consensus for the new date was the sole prerogative of the three parties.