Somali presidential candidates issue preconditions for Lower House elections

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Union of Presidential Candidates on Monday issued preconditions for Lower House polls, which are set to kick off any time soon, and which will be key for many candidates who are keen to topple outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

Farmaajo's term expired on Feb 8, 2021, and since then, he's been strategizing on how to retain, but that opposition has kept growing across the country. He will face a host of candidates in the polls that have been scheduled for October 10.

With the MPs expected to play a fundamental role in the upcoming elections, the opposition leaders have issued a number of irreducible minimums which they believe will help the country realize free and fair parliamentary elections.

For this to happen, they said: "All the 135 elders who are recognized as Somali elders should be on the basis of the selection of the committees electing members of the Lower House. The international community and civil society members must be observers."

Further, they noted: "The venues for the polls must be secured by the African Union Mission Forces in Somalia for the sake of unbiased security arrangements. Also, the Federal Member States should play auxiliary roles just as facilitators of the exercise."

Somalia failed to implement the universal suffrage polls as earlier envisaged and this means the country is still relying on indirect polls. Elders are very important in the process of electing MPs thus special emphasis on them by the candidates.

Already, a number of regional assemblies have elected new senators who will jointly elect a president with their colleagues in the Lower House. Somalia has a total of 275 Lower House members and 54 Senators both of who are entitled to oversight and legislation.

Some of the top presidential candidates include former Presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, and Wadajir party leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame. There are indications that they might field a single candidate.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble issued invitations for a meeting this Thursday between the Federal Member States and the Federal Government. The meeting will among others, evaluate the ongoing preparations for the parliamentary polls.

GAROWE ONLINE