May 05, 2009

Somaliland: Opposition Election Commission Changes


Active ImageTwo opposition parties in Somaliland have demanded that the government make changes to the election commission, Radio Garowe reports.

 

Below is an article published by Garowe Online:


A press conference was held Sunday [May 3 2009] by Kulmiye party officials in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

Mr. Abdirahman Abdulkadir, the second deputy chairman of Kulmiye, told reporters that Kulmiye and UCID opposition parties agreed that the election commission members no longer enjoy the confidence of the opposition.

"The two opposition parties, Kulmiye and UCID, have proposed that all members of the election commission be changed, except the newly appointed member," Mr. Abdulkadir said.

He noted that the opposition was "hopeful" that Somaliland President Dahir Riyale and the ruling UDUB party will agree with the opposition's proposal.

Mr. Abdulkadir thanked the people of Somaliland for holding peaceful rallies across the region to express their opposition to President Riyale's term extension, which the opposition called illegal but was endorsed by the upper house of parliament (House of Guurti).

The political crisis in Somaliland has subsided since the Apr. 29 vote by the political mediation committee, which voted in support of President Riyale's term extension.

Somaliland, located in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally.