AU forces and SNA troops to secure elections in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The AU forces in Somalia working in Hirshabelle will coordinate with the Somali National Army [SNA] and Hirshabelle State police to instill confidence in the public and electoral committee within the region once the country goes for elections, AMISOM has said.

Somalia will be holding nationwide polls in the coming weeks should the opposition and the Federal Government strike an agreement after days of stalemate. The indirect elections will see 101 state electors picking the 275 MPs based on September pre-election deal.

These MPs will then elect a Speaker of parliament and later President of the Federal Government of Somalia [FGS]. These elections are projected to be held across the country. Earlier, it was planned that the presidential elections could be held on Feb. 8, 2021.

Last week, AMISOM Chief Operations Officer for AMISOM sector five Lt. Col. Damien Sebatutsi said they plan to jointly work together with local law enforcement agencies to foil Al-Shabaab in a bid to provide safety in the localities where the election will be held.

“We can continue to ensure the security of this holiday period at the end of the year. Once again, AMISOM guarantees its participation on your side to build lasting brotherly peace with the Somali people. I take this opportunity to thank you for responding to this meeting and for your contribution to the subject that concerns us today,” he said in Jowhar, the regional administrative capital of Hirshabelle.

On his part Captain Ismail Kulow Tuure, Operations Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the SNA division in Jowhar expressed optimism that their joint coordination with AMISOM will improve security

“Today we met to discuss some key decisions which came out from this important meeting and include how AMISOM and the Somali National Army will jointly coordinate to secure elections. These are crucial decisions,” Capt. Tuure said.

Colonel Mukhtar Abdulle Nur, a senior Hirshabelle police officer echoed the sentiments his security comrades highlighted and he is certain their coordination would bear fruits and the elections will be secured.

“We will make use of all the information we shared here today. These are information about the enemy Al-Shabaab and not political. We have updated ourselves on the areas where the enemy has a presence. Soon elections will be held here and so we discussed how to secure that election,” Col. Nur said.

AMISOM in collaboration with the Somali Police Force [SPF] and SNA are members of the Somalia Election Security Task Force which is tasked with providing security during elections and to ensure the safety of election materials and officials both at the Federal and State levels of government where the task force will have a presence.

GAROWE ONLINE