Somalia's Puntland state to elect senators on Wednesday

GAROWE, Puntland - The northeastern state of Somalia, Puntland has issued dates for much anticipated senatorial elections, which will see the regional assembly elect eleven [11] people who are supposed the represent the state in Mogadishu.

Puntland is allocated eleven senatorial seats in the 54-member Senate. All the five states and Somaliland are given seats proportionally in the Senate and the members usually represent the interests of their Federal States especially on matters touchin them.

The Speaker of the Puntland House of Representatives, Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril, informed the Federal Electoral Implementation Committee [FEIT], the Puntland Electoral Commission [SEIT], and Senate Candidates that the Upper House Election The Federal Parliament of Somalia in Puntland will be held on Wednesday, 11th August.

Once the polls are held tomorrow, Puntland will now join Southwest and Jubaland as the states which have kicked off the tight electioneering, with all the regions trying to comply with May 27 agreement, which was signed by all major stakeholders.

There will be a total of seven female candidates who will wrestle for the three reserved seats but one of them will face a make candidate. Organizers had urged the states to try and attain the 30 percent quota of female representatives in both the Lower House and the Senate.

It is anticipated that once senatorial polls are over, the states will conduct elections for the Lower House, which will be followed by the presidential polls later on October 10. Outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo is expected to defend his seat.

Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has been calling for free and fair elections across the country for the sake of stability. Ironically, Puntland and Jubaland seem to have embraced the election calendar despite months of reservations in which they accused Villa Somalia of a plot to rig.

The progress in Garowe comes days after the regional administration hailed Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble for showing leadership throughout the process. Roble, who was placed on top of the exercise, is set to visit Kenya on Tuesday.

GAROWE ONLINE