Monday November 9, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Presidential elections in HirShabelle is set to be postponed after it emerged that no other candidate has presented himself to battle it out with the Federal Government fronted aspirant Ali Guudlaawe.
Sources close to the developments have told HOL other candidates have silently withdrawn from the race for what they termed as ‘a flawed and already determined election.’
The candidates, sources told HOL ‘know the Federal Government will ensure Guudlaawe becomes president’. In effect sources added, ‘the other candidates see this as an exercise futility.’
Elections for a new president were to take place shortly after a new speaker of Parliament was elected. The state assembly elected a new speaker last Wednesday.
However, HOL has learnt the election of a new president will be deferred to the future to avoid a ‘lone candidate’ race.
Guudlaawe who is currently the deputy president is publicly known to be backed by Mogadishu.
His prospects were further confirmed after Abdi Waare resigned as HirShabelle president citing a fall-out with the Federal Government.
In his resignation letter, Waare claimed that the Federal Government gave him a deaf ear after he sought for a delay of the presidential elections.
Waare was, for a better part of his two year presidency, a close ally of the Federal Government especially at a time when relations between the Federal Member States and Mogadishu were rocky.
The Federal Government has successfully installed its preferred candidates in South West and Galmudug in the last two years.
Attempts to replicate this success in Jubbaland failed after Ahmed Madobe stuck to his guns with the apparent support of Kenya.