November 21, 2016 | Morning Headlines
UN, International Partners Underline Need To Ensure Legitimacy And Credibility Of Elections In Somalia
20 November – Source: UN News Centre – 437 Words
Noting that the electoral process in Somalia is “going much better than many predicted,” the United Nations envoy in the country underlined the need to ensure that the legitimacy of the process is preserved and called on electoral bodies to investigate any credible reports of violations of rules and regulations. “It would be highly counterproductive if instances of abuse, rule breaking and misconduct tarnish what otherwise promises to be a remarkable achievement,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Michael Keating said in a statement today.
“It is essential that credible reports of violations of the rules and regulations governing this process are investigated by the Indirect Electoral Dispute Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM), and appropriate action taken to preserve the legitimacy of the process,” he added. According to the statement, UN along with a range of international partners, including African Union, European Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Ethiopia, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States also called upon the members of Somalia’s National Leadership Forum (NLF) to use their authority and influence to prevent abusive and unfair electoral practices.
They also congratulated the national authorities and in particular the country’s ad hoc electoral bodies for the progress achieved thus far on elections for both houses of the next federal parliament and recognized the positive role played by many traditional elders in resolving intra-clan disputes. Voting has already been held for 43 of the 54 seats in the Upper House of the Parliament and elections have also been conducted for 112 of the 275 seats in the House of the People (the lower house). The international community also underscored the important role of the IEDRM in in reviewing the many complaints it has received from registered candidates in order to assess the credibility of their grievances on an individual basis.
Key Headlines
- UN International Partners Underline Need To Ensure Legitimacy And Credibility Of Elections In Somalia (UN News Centre)
- UN Envoy Keating In Jowhar For Talks Over Cancelled Lower House Poll (Goobjoog News)
- FIEIT Probes ‘Disqualification’ Of Petroleum Minister By Jubbaland Electoral Body (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Court Sentences Two Men To Death For ISIL Links (Shabelle News)
- Two Police Officers Killed In Somali Capital Explosion (Xinhua)
- AU Troops Kill Six Al-Shabaab Militants Seize Location In S Somalia (Xinhua)
- Somalia Elections Not Credible Country’s Auditor General Says (VOA)
- Somalia’s PM Says Secures Ceasefire Between Two Warring Regions (Reuters)
- Four Suspected Al-Shabaab Terrorists Killed In Elwak Mandera (The Star)
- Somali Embassy In Washington DC: One Year On (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
UN Envoy, Keating In Jowhar For Talks Over Cancelled Lower House Poll
20 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 204 Words
UN special envoy Michael Keating is meeting with electoral officials and elders in Jowhar following the cancellation of the vote there by the Federal electoral body owing to a gunfight on Friday which resulted in the injured of two people. Goobjoog News correspondent in Jowhar says the UN chief arrived in Jowhar with the National Intelligence and Security Agency NISA boss General Abdullahi Gafow and will be holding talks with electoral officials and elders over the electoral dispute.
The Federal electoral body FIEIT announced Saturday it was calling off elections in HirShabelle until proper security arrangements were put in place. Meanwhile, our correspondent says elders from Hiiraan region have signed a petition calling for cancellation of a second round of voting and declaring Ahmed Sheikh Nur the substantive winner. Nur had got 24 votes in the first round while his erstwhile rival, Youth and Sports Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Nuhu garnered 23.
The minister’s security team is accused of causing fracas and opening fire at delegates of his opponent before a second round vote was called since none of the candidates attained the 50%+1 threshold. The FIEIT is yet to issue its final verdict on the matter but had earlier called for order and peace while condemning what happened.
FIEIT Probes ‘Disqualification’ Of Petroleum Minister By Jubbaland Electoral Body
20 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 387 Words
The Federal electoral body (FIEIT) is investigating an incident in which the state level electoral body in Jubbaland disqualified Petroleum Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Muktar over voter bribery and disruption of voting exercise in Kismayo Saturday. FIEIT deputy spokesperson Nafisa Santur has told Goobjoog News the polls body had received the letter from Jubbaland and is conducting investigations. “We received the letter from the State Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (SIEIT) of Jubbaland and we are investigating the matter. We will issue our verdict once we are done,” she said.
In a four point statement, SIEIT in Jubbaland accuses the minister of voter bribery, bribing security guards and instructing them to cause violence during the voting and ordering the guards to chase away delegates from voting centres. It notes that on November 18, the minister booked 29 delegates in Agan Hotel in Kismayo, confiscated all their phones and ordered them to stay in the hotel until the voting day. Delegates were promised more money, the letter reads. Our efforts to reach the minister for comment on the matter were unsuccessful.
The Abdi Ali Rage led team – SIEIT, also alleges on the same November 18 the minister paid undisclosed amount of money to the local security forces to cause chaos during the voting and also clashed with electoral officers. The team further claims the security guards went ahead to disrupt the voting exercise, confiscated ID cards of rival delegates and sent away the voters. A source privy to the development and who was present at the polling centre has however intimated to Goobjoog News that the letter was based on score settling and that the local electoral body chair was bent on addressing a personal grudge with the minister.
“The electoral chair (Abdi Ali Rage) clearly had a personal score to settle with the minister. In fact he presented fake delegates to the polling centre. Luckily an elder for the rival candidate was there and raised issue with the identity of the delegates. That’s when the security officers intervened to settle the matter and the whole exercise had to be called off,” our source observes. Further, the source says some of the delegates had ID cards which bore different photographs from the owner. “You have a case where the photo of another person is printed on your ID; a case of double identity.”
Puntland Court Sentences Two Men To Death For ISIL Links
20 November – Source: Shabelle News – 119 Words
A military court in the northeastern semi-autonomous state of Puntland has on Sunday sentenced two men to death for allegedly being members of the ISIS-affiliated group that operates in Puntland. A court judge said Ahmed Aden Abdullahi, 26, and Abdullahi Mohamed Aden, who were convicted of having links with ISIL had been given death sentences.
Col Abdifitah Haji Aden, Puntland military court chief, said two other men were sentenced to life in custody after being found guilty of being ISIL fighters. Several other suspects linked to ISIL have been given jail terms of between 5 to 20 years. Islamic State has increased its presence in parts of Puntland, stepping up recruitment of young men to join the group’s ranks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Two Police Officers Killed In Somali Capital Explosion
20 November – Source: Xinhua – 130 Words
At least two police officers were killed and two others injured in a bomb explosion at a checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday. Local government spokesman Abdifitah Omar Halane said the incident was caused by an explosive device planted near the checkpoint manned by traffic police officers. “We think the blast was a landmine which terrorists planted near the checkpoint mid last night,” Halane told journalists, adding that an investigation is underway.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, but Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab militants frequently carry out attacks on government and civilian targets in the country. Troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia are conducting security operations in Benadir region, where Mogadishu is located, ahead of presidential election slated for Nov. 30.
AU Troops Kill Six Al-Shabaab Militants, Seize Location In Somalia
20 November – Source: Xinhua – 123 Words
Troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), alongside the Somali National Army (SNA), on Friday killed six Al-Shabaab militants in an area about some 35km northeast of the southern Somali town of Kismayo and captured a location. AMISOM force spokesperson Joe Kibet told Xinhua by phone that the joint forces took the Bula-Gadud location and recovered weapons during the operation in Lower Juba region.
Kibet said that there were no casualties on their side. Islamist group Al-Shabaab did not immediately comment on that. The group has been fighting against the Somali government for years, staging frequent attacks in the country. The joint forces have increased their operations against the militants as part of efforts to secure the ongoing elections in Somalia.
Somalia Elections Not Credible, Country’s Auditor General Says
20 November – Source: VOA News – 818 Words
Somalia’s ongoing parliamentary elections have no credibility because of vote buying, fraud, intimidation and violence, the country’s auditor general said in an exclusive interview with VOA Somali. Nur Jimale Farah said Electoral College delegates, who are electing members of parliament, are voting for the highest bidder. “Some votes were bought with $5,000, some with $10,000, and some with $20,000 or $30,000. But not all seats are equal. Some are influential seats and have a lot of candidates competing for them,” he said.
He said two seats cost their respective winners $1.3 million each. He said his office recorded that one of the seats was won in Galmudug and the other in Hirshabelle. Farah said some delegates were threatened, some stayed away because they were afraid, and others weren’t allowed into election halls while other people used their names to vote. “In Baidoa, some delegates were kept outside, a candidate was kept outside; the one candidate who got inside was elected. It was claimed the other one gave up, although he is being kept outside. There were two such cases in Kismayo, too,” he said.
Farah said his office recorded six candidates who were elected under these circumstances. This was the first evidence of alleged vote buying in Lower House and Upper House elections, which are taking place in five major towns in Somalia. More than 14,000 Electoral College delegates are voting for the 275-member Lower House of parliament, and so far, fewer than half of the members have been selected. Regional parliaments are also electing the 54-member Upper House, where 80 percent of the seats have been filled.
Farah said some candidates were elected unopposed, although their challengers were present and were kept outside election halls. Asked why the seats are so expensive, Farah said some candidates, among them business leaders and well-known individuals, believe getting into the parliament will give them immunity and protection. “They are using the seats as a sanctuary,” he said. Several former warlords with a history of violence were also elected to the two houses of parliament.
Somalia’s PM Says Secures Ceasefire Between Two Warring Regions
19 November – Source: Reuters – 217 Words
Somalia’s Prime Minister said on Saturday he had secured a ceasefire between two warring regions in the Horn of Africa nation, two weeks after a peace deal collapsed leading to fighting that killed at least 29 people. The Galmudug and Puntland semi-autonomous regions have a history of clashes and the latest round of fighting between their forces two weeks ago erupted after a dispute over buildings planned in Galkayo, a city that is divided between the two sides.
“Prime Minister (Omar) Sharmarke travelled to Galkayo and over (the) last week worked to negotiate an immediate ceasefire and an initiation of preliminary talks for a lasting peace agreement,” a statement from his office said. The statement said Sharmarke met Galmudug President Abdikarim Hussein Guled and Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and witnessed a troop pull-back from the area where they clashed, and will have a four-kilometre buffer zone.
“What happened over the last month and weeks in Galkayo is very unfortunate. It is the responsibility of all here and absent to make sure we do not see a repeat,” Sharmarke said. Somalia has been hit by conflict since the downfall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in early 1990s, and Islamist militant group Al Shabaab has been one of the main causes of unrest in the last two decades.
Four Suspected Al-Shabaab Terrorists Killed In Elwak, Mandera
20 November – Source: The Star – 111 Words
Four suspected terrorists were killed on Saturday at El-Wak, Mandera county following a security operation in the area. Four AK 47 rifles with 90 rounds, four magazines for AK-47 rifles, five mobile phones, one pocket phone, Somali Army jungle jackets were recovered. Some 23-litre capacity jerry-cans were also seized from the men at the porous Kenya-Somalia border.
Police said the men were planning an attack on specific high-value targets including the El-Wak Police camps. According to police, the slain men were affiliated to the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. Police said the suspected terrorists were planning to fire rocket-propelled grenades at the camps then steal ammunition, weapons, and police vehicles.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The United States’ recognition of the Somali government in 2013 marked an important moment for our nation. For the first time since 1991, the U.S. government was ready to embark on a new era of partnerships with Somalia. It was evident that this commitment and the visit from Secretary John Kerry to Mogadishu in May 2015, translated into a sense of optimism and hope for the Somali people.”
Somali Embassy In Washington DC: One Year On
19 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1,259 Words
A year has passed since the official reopening of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Somalia in Washington DC, USA. On 18 November 2015, the embassy hosted a ceremony to mark the official reopening after a period of absence that took 24 years. During this memorable gathering at the historical landmark Mayflower hotel, over a 100 guests consisting of U.S. government representatives, diplomats, international organizations and members of the Somali community came together to collectively turn the page in the history of Somalia-U.S. ties.
The Somali Embassy has since been on a mission to reintroduce itself to the diplomatic community in DC, and we have been received in an incredibly graceful and respectable way. One of the unique characteristics that the DC setting provides is the interaction with a large diplomatic community and international organizations. During the past year, as representatives of Somalia, we have witnessed countless times the admiration many nations have for Somalia, and this is something that often dates back to our historic ties with these nations as well as our incredible track record in diplomacy in the past.
Under the leadership of Ambassador Ahmed I. Awad, we have formed a small team of mainly volunteers and committed community members from the Washington Metropolitan area who have been tirelessly working with the embassy. In many ways, this is a metaphor for the remarkable support the embassy has received from the entire Somali community in North America. Almost everyone we’ve met, no matter their age or what they truly know about Somalia’s past, we have heard the same story over and over again: to see the Somali flag rising again in downtown Washington DC was a sign of progress and hope for a bright future ahead.
Our work would have practically been impossible without the support of many Somali-Americans who have shown us incredible commitment, invested time and resources to make sure that flag continues to wave again in downtown DC. Somalia will be forever grateful for this.