THT: Commissioners of the National Elections Commission-NEC have been asked to refrain from issuing public statements until their internal disputes are resolved.
The urging were made by President Muse Bihi following the ejection of Abdirashid Mohamud Ali aka ‘Riyo-raac as chairman of the NEC, the election of Commissioner Kaltun Sheikh Hasan Abdi as replacement.
In reaction to the public announcement unseating him the embattled Riyo-raac responded likewise, terming the move by a majority of the seven members Electoral body as illegal.
To gender parity activists and regardless of disputed issues good tidings was the election of Ms Kaltun Sh Hasan as first woman head of the Somaliland National Elections Commission.
For opposition Wadani it glee but covertly for it has long pursued the exit of Riyo-raac from the top perch at NEC, for reasons of unprofessional conduct during the 2017 Somaliland presidential elections that saw Muse Bihi defeat the party’s Abdirahman Abdilahi Irro.
In a statement Wadani party said that the dispute was internal to NEC , that any commissioner had a right to the body’s leadership and that it shall as usual cooperate closely with whoever the commissioners choose as their chairperson
“I have held a number of mediation sessions with the commissioners since yesterday” said the Somaliland head of State in a statement released by information minister cum government spokesperson Suleiman Yusuf Ali ‘Kore’
The statement read:
Quote- On this day 28th April 2022 I hereby officially inform that the President of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi had various meetings with members of the National Electoral Commission, since yesterday the 27th when the National Electoral Commission issued two conflicting statements.
After much deliberations, the President and members of the Electoral Commission agreed that the dispute should be resolved through legal channels and that neither side should issue any Public statements until the acrimonies are over .
Original Somal language statement below
