Somalia: Jowhar voted as the capital for Hiiran-Middle Shabelle state

JOWHAR, Somalia- Traditional elders attending the inter-state formation conference for Hiiran-Middle Shabelle regions, have voted to assign Jowhar as the new state capital, Garowe Online reports.

Jowhar city, which is hosting the second phase of the inter-state conference, was unofficially appointed as the capital for the forthcoming state, following a vote by over 200 delegates amid the absences of prominent elders from Hiiran region, who boycotted the conference, citing the process is "unfair". It is still unclear whether the voting was official or not, as some of Hiiran prominent elders still boycotting the conference. 

The Transitional Constitution for the state allows traditional elders to vote for the capital of the region, which cancels out earlier decree by caretaker President who selected Bulobarade town to be the capital for the forthcoming state.

Hiiran-Middle Shabelle is the only remaining Federal member state to be formed before country’s polls due to conclude November 30. Continuous disagreements and mistrust between the Federal Government and traditional elders from both regions, led to the collapse of previous talks aimed to facilitate state formation.

The conference is attended by Somali government officials and some clan leaders, sponsored by Somalia’s Interior Ministry, which announced that the conference will be wrapped up in mid October with the formation of new state, while the upcoming third phase will conclude with the selection of new parliamentarians and new head of state.

The process which was set to end last year has failed, after regional elders accused Somali government of interfering with the selection of delegates to the conference, a matter which degenerated into the collapse of the state formation process.

on the other hand, Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation team (FIEIT) has expressed concerns in the stalemate for the selection of the upcoming parliamentarians, as traditional elders rejected plans by FIEIT and Federal government-term ended in 10 September- to elect the MPs in the capital Mogadishu.

Caretaker President Hasan Shaikh Mahmoud and close allies are jockeying to conclude the state formation process before elections amid elders opposition from from government interference over the process.

GAROWEONLINE