Somalia: Tough contest expected in Lower House election in Puntland, former Federal Minister won the first seat

GAROWE, Puntland- The third phase of the parliamentary election has commenced today in Garowe city, regional capital of northeastern region of Puntland, to vote for candidates that will represent regional clans in the upcoming Lower House chamber of Federal Parliament, Garowe Online reports.

Today’s polling will see the election of 3 MPs representing Dulbahante, Muse Saleeban and Ba’idian clans, as the delegates-Electoral College-are set to cast votes among contenders for the seats.

The security of the venues has been tightened by the security forces, as they blocked all the roads that lead to the areas of the election, reports said.

Tough contests are expected in the ballot sessions and particularly for the Ba’idian clan seat, as 6 candidates have prepared for the race for the parliamentary seat.

On the other hand, 4 candidates are looking to win the seat for Muse Saleban clan, whereas 2 contestants are running for the Dulbahante seat.

However, early results showed the victory of Daud Mohamed Omar, former Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral, over his rival to secure the first seat of the election for the Dulbahnte clan.

The ballot resumed in Puntland state after two week break and elected so far 19 MPs out of a total of 39, despite it kick started the process before other regional states. Early this week, Chairman of Puntland’s State-Level Indirect Electoral Implementation team (SIEIT) has citied “financial reasons” for the recurrent delays in the parliamentary elections in Puntland region.

According to the Somali election, Lower House election was set to take place between October 23 and November 10, as the new lawmakers will vote for the new Somali President in November 30.

However, the Somali Presidential election is expected to be postponed again amid failure to meet parliamentary deadlines by regional states.

GAROWEONLINE