October 6, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Somali Indirect Electoral Team Extends Upper House Candidates Submission Date

05 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 137 Words

Somali Indirect Electoral Implementation Team has extended the date of upper House candidate’s list submission to two more days. The announcement came after the previous deadline marked on 5. OCT. Expired. “The team wants to makes clear that the Regional States did not meet the deadline to submit Upper House candidates list to the Team; therefore, we are calling again all the regional states to submit the list in two days time” reads out, a press release by the team on this Wednesday. Somali Indirect Electoral Team warned off a possible delay of elections ‘Finally, the Team warns off a possible elections delay in the case that the new deadline unmet ‘ said the Team. Meanwhile, the Indirect Electoral Team has asked National Leadership Forum to accelerate the process of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions Upper house candidates.

Key Headlines

Somali Indirect Electoral Team Extends Upper House Candidates Submission Date (Goobjoog News)
Jowhar State Formation Conference In Its Final Stage (Goobjoog News)
AU Special Representative Commends ISWA For Timely Electoral Process Preparations (AMISOM)
Puntland Leader Calls For Intervention Amid Worsening Droughts (Garowe Online)
14 Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Somalia (World Bulletin)
Turkey Opening Military Base in Somalia (Defence Web)
Somalia’s Elections: A Small Stumbling Step On The Road To Democracy (African Arguments)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Jowhar State Formation Conference In Its Final Stage

05 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 197 Words

The process of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle state building heads its final stage, which will culminate in regional state for both regions. Delegates voted on Tuesday for the name of the state, the proposed constitutions, and the designated state capital. The delegates overwhelmingly voted ‘Hirshabelle’ to be name of the state; the flag and emblem were voted but the result yet to tabulated according to the permanent secretary of Somali Federal Interior minister Yahye Ali Ibrahim Jamal Ahmed, the representative of IGAD to the state building conference in Jowhar praised the elders and delegates. “You did a good job; you stayed here for long time to come up with fruitful result, and now we are in the edge of successes,”said Jamal Ahmed the IGAD representative to the meeting.

Delegates from Buulobarde district walked out of the conference to protest against Jowhar as the potential capital of the Hirshabbelle state. In a presidential decree by Somali president Hassan Sheikh, Buulobarde town in Somalia’s central region, Hiiraan was named to be the administrative capital of the upcoming state for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions. The new development comes amid the conspicuous absences of major clans in Hiiraan region.

AU Special Representative Commends ISWA For Timely Electoral Process Preparations

06 October – Source: AMISOM – 549 Words

Baidoa, 5 October, 2016 – The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has hailed the progress made by Interim South West Administration (ISWA) on preparations for the 2016 electoral process, despite existing challenges. The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, who was part of an international delegation that visited Baidoa, Wednesday, said AMISOM was impressed with the ongoing electoral process preparations in the South West region. “We came here to discuss with President Sharif the electoral process preparations and whether he is facing any challenges. We also came to express our support and admiration and encourage him to keep working hard so that this process moves forward without much delay,” Ambassador Madeira noted.
He said AMISOM was impressed with the progress made in identifying candidates for the upper house, adding that the Interim South West Administration had made a commitment to submit the list by next week. “We were very impressed with the effort, the commitment and the speed with which names have been identified for the upper house and we were satisfied to hear that in the coming few days, the definitive list of the candidates will be produced,” said the SRCC, who accompanied the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Michael Keating and other representatives on the fact-finding mission.

Somalia will hold presidential elections on 30 November 2016, while parliamentary elections will be held fromOctober 23 to November 10 for both the lower and upper houses. The elections of speakers for both houses of parliament will be held on 23 November. AMISOM has been working closely with the local security forces, especially the independent electoral security task force to secure the process and ensure the exercise proceeds smoothly. “We are very happy to hear from the President that AMISOM is working very closely with the independent electoral security task force in securing the place and so far the coordination is good. Work is going on very well, they meet regularly and coordinate on how to secure the elections, how to assist and support in the transportation of the delegates and the elders to this place for the process to go on smoothly,” the SRCC observed. Ambassador Madeira was optimistic that the efforts made by AMISOM and the federal governments will pay off, noting that existing challenges will be resolved amicably. “I have to say that we are really very impressed by the efforts made by the government and SIEIT (State Indirect Electoral Implementation Team). We have no reason to think that things will be derailed,” he observed. On his part, ISWA President, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, thanked the delegation for visiting the state, adding that ISWA will work hard to ensure the electoral process is successful.

He disclosed that the names of candidates for the upper house will be announced in the next few days, saying his administration had finalized the list. “We have informed the visiting UN and AMISOM delegates on how far we have gone with preparations for the electoral process. The deadline for the submission of the list of the upper house was today. Although we did not announce it earlier, the list is ready and will be announced in the next few days,” President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan said.

Puntland Leader Calls For Intervention Amid Worsening Droughts

05 October – Source: Garowe Online – 139 Words

The President of Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, has announced that the recent droughts crisis has greatly impacted the lives and livelihood of hundreds of nomadic communities in Puntland. During a press conference held in the state capital Garowe, President Ali noted that Puntland region is facing a severe drought conditions, and called for a collective intervention to avert worsening of the situation. Hundreds of nomadic families in Puntland region are facing severe water shortage as drought reigns amid low rainfalls across the region. President Ali appealed to the public and International community for aid to support drought stricken nomadic communities in Puntland. His announcement came following a meeting with representatives from International organizations operating in Puntland region, to discuss drought response initiatives to save lives and enable recovery of livelihoods of the nomadic communities.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

14 Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Somalia

05 October – Source: World Bulletin – 95 Words

Somali armed forces have killed 14 al-Shabaab fighters in a security operation in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, authorities said Wednesday morning.Armed forces conducted the operation on Tuesday night, said Deputy Defense Minister Abdullah Houcine Ali.Ali said inhabitants in the region alerted authorities about the presence of al-Shabaab fighters in the area. During the operation, the army seized military equipment and torched several vehicles belonging to the militant group, Ali added.Al-Shabaab has not reacted to the government’s announcement.The Somali government has been battling the al-Qaeda-linked militant group since 2004.

Turkey Opening Military Base in Somalia

05 October – Source: Defence Web – 242 Words

Turkey will soon open a military base in Somalia, its first in Africa, to train Somali troops to combat extremist organisations.Turkish publication Daily Sabah said on Friday that the base has been completed in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Around 200 Turkish personnel will be initially deployed to train 10 500 Somali soldiers.Turkey has enjoyed close defence ties with Somalia for years, and in January last year signed an agreement to capacitate Somalia’s military. The base, established with the consent of the United Nations, will be operational by 2017, according to a Turkish military official. Turkish military officials in Somalia also said Turkey will open a uniform factory in Mogadishu for the Somali military.Speaking to Anadolu Agency on 30 September, Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamad said, “Turkey’s prominent role in Somalia can be seen at all levels: humanitarian, infrastructure, health and investment.” This year Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited Somalia for the third time in five years and opened Turkey’s largest embassy in Africa. Erdogan in 2011 became the first non-African leader to go to Somalia in nearly 20 years, visited various projects that have benefited from Turkish investment, including a new airport terminal and a rehabilitated seaport.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“It’s very possible to be overly optimistic, however. This 2016 process is still miles away from one-person-one-vote, it has plenty of inherent flaws, and it has shown itself to be open to manipulation and fraud,”

Somalia’s Elections: A Small, Stumbling Step On The Road To Democracy

05 October – Source: African Arguments -1127 Words

If all goes according to (the latest) plan, Somalia will hold parliamentary elections on 23 October, with the appointment of the president set for 30 November.Whichever way it goes, this process will mark another turning point in the country’s long and troubled transition. If the election is deemed to be a failure, aspects of Somalia’s fragile progress may be at risk. If the selection is seen to go smoothly, the next question will be of whether the country can preserve its nascent institutions over the coming years and continue on the rocky road towards long-term stability, democratisation and development. After years of being synonymous with state failure, famine, piracy and al-Shabaab, these elections provides a rare opportunity for Somalia to send a message of hope – though several concerns remain.

The upcoming elections will not be a one-person-one-vote affair. But unlike 2012’s (s)election in which MPs were selected by just 135 clan elders, this time around the (s)electorate will be made up of 14,025 delegates. These individuals will make up electoral colleges of 51 people each, which will cast secret ballots to select the Lower House’s 275 parliamentarians. One third of these seats will be contested only by women, and the distribution of the seats will reflect Somalia’s pre-existing 4.5 formula that divides power between clans. A new Upper House will also see 54 senators elected, who will be nominated by regional leaders and approved by their respective parliaments. Members of both houses of parliament will then select the next president at the end of November. Settling on this convoluted process was the culmination of months of fierce political negotiations and backdoor dealings. There had been some hope that this time around, there would be one-person-one-vote elections. But while the final process falls far short of this, those in diplomatic circles that midwifed the model refer to it as representing “enhanced legitimacy”. That’s to say it is an improvement on the last time, but not universal suffrage just yet.