Hiiraan Online
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Ugaas Xasan Khalif (Centre) with other elders during his Inauguration Ceremony in Beled Weyne on July 25th, 2016. FILE PHOTO
Beled Weyne (HOL) – The committee of Hiiraan Elders along with youth and women groups and the Hiiraan Civil Society have signed a letter forewarning of electoral fraud in their region. The group accuses the current government of deceiving the process to select their nominees to Parliament.
The letter obtained by Hiiraan Online is addressed to UNPOS, EU, AU, IGAD as well as the General Attorney of Somalia. It claims that the government has been disingenuous in its dealings with the people of Hiiraan. They noted the stalemate over state formation and the refusal to hold election sites in Beled Weyne or Jowhar as one of their key grievances. They argued that the issue of security is a “feeble excuse” since Beled Weyne has been housing both the UN and AMISOM for the past five years with little incident.
The signatories of the letter directly accused the government of trying to steal the 8 seats for the Upper House and the 36 seats for Parliament that Hiiraan/Middle Shabelle are entitled to. They believe the government wants to reward those seats to what they refer to as “cronies” who will support President Hassan’s re-election bid.
The Somali federal government is in a race against time as they push to meet the latest election deadline. The government is trying to form a federal state for Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan before October 30 and have been meeting in Jowhar for formal talks on interregional state formation.