Somalia: Puntland's SIEIT rejects nullification of parliamentary seats

GAROWE, Puntland- State-level Indirect Electoral Implementation team (SIEIT) has dismissed recent decision made by Federal dispute electoral body to null election results for several seats from the Lower House election carried out in Somalia's regional states, Garowe Online reports.

Yesterday, the Independent Electoral Disputes Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM) released a statement, demanding the state-level electoral bodies to discard the results and redo re-election for a total of 11 seats from Jubaland, Galmudug, Puntland, Hirshabelle and Southwest.

However, the chairman of Puntlnad’s SIEIT, Khalif Aw Ali, stated the decision is intended to disrupt the forthcoming presidential election scheduled end of this month, and noted the parliamentary elections in Puntland were carried out according to the rules of the electoral process.  

He also refuted claims of dispute for parliamentary seats elected in Puntland state and criticized the IEDRM for breaching the rules set for the commission. According to article 14, the concerned sides of the case should be present at the hearing procedures. IEDRM didn’t comply with the rule, added Ali.        

He said the decision is politically motivated, and described the act of the commission as “black market”. They also attempted to disrupt the Lower House election in Puntland region when it commenced in November 1, said Ali.  

Additionally, state-level electoral body for Southwest state has also rejected the decision to null the seats for 6 MPs elected in Baido town.

This comes amid the conclusion of parliamentary election in regional states, as the new MPs are set to take part in the sworn-in event in the capital Mogadishu to prepare for the election of new Speakers of both Houses and new President.

GAROWONLINE