Somalia: Jubaland parliament names election commission

KISMAYO, Somalia, August 4, 2015 (Garowe Online)-Lawmakers in Somalia’s Jubaland parliament have picked eight commissioners for election commission following parliamentary session that voted against a request for deadline extension for presidential elections on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.

Female MP Quresha Mohamed Abdulle will head the electoral board tasked with overseeing first election under the shadow of new Jubaland draft constitution.

Parliament speaker Sheikh Abdi Yusuf told reporters in the southern port city of Kismayo that no changes have been made in the date set for presidential encounter.

On Saturday, 300 delegates representing Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo regions unanimously passed a regional constitution, paving the way to first-ever draft to be adopted since Jubaland inception.

Jubaland leader Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) has in advance written to the parliament, asking that election date be postponed from August 15.

Madobe and Gen. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismael (Fartag) were elected President and Vice President respectively following a month-long convention in Kismayo in May 2013.

As a result of IGAD-brokered bilateral talks in Addis Ababa, Jubaland officially gained its recognition from Mogadishu-based Federal Government in August 2013.

Incumbent Madobe whose forces along with Kenyan-AMISOM peacekeepers liberated strategic Kismayo port city may seek re-election. 

GAROWE ONLINE