August 10, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia Increases Female Voters And Candidates To Beat 30% Threshold For 2016 Polls
10 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 335 Words
At least 30 percent of the 14,025 delegates, who will elect members of the Lower House, must be female while 50 percent of candidates for the Upper House seats must be female, Somalia’s national leadership agreed on Tuesday.In an official communique after a week-long meeting, the National Leadership Forum (NLF) explained the move was designed to meet the 30 percent threshold stipulated in the Provisional Constitution 2012. Following the conclusion of deliberations, which sought to iron out a number of contentious issues among them the 30 percent quota for women in the forthcoming elections, the National Leadership Forum also reduced fees payable to the electoral body for female candidates by 50 percent.
Initially, the required fee to the electoral body was $5000 for the Lower House while that of the Upper House was $10,000. Each of the 275 members of the Lower House will be elected by 51 delegates drawn from the four major and minority clans.The Mogadishu meeting was chaired by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and was attended by; the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mohammed Osman Jawari, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Deputy PM Mohamed Omar Arte and presidents of regional states, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali-Gaas (Puntland), Ahmed Mohamed Islaan (Jubbaland), Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan (South West) Vice President of Galmudug, Mohamed Hashi Abdi.
To ensure the 30 percent quota is feasible, NLF agreed that each of the four clans in Somalia will be required to produce 18 female members for the Lower House while the smaller clans grouped as 0.5 will be allocated 9 seats. In accordance with the 4.5 clan based formula, which was agreed upon for the election of the Lower House, the four clans, Darod, Dir, Hawiye and Digil/Mirifle will each get 18 slots.In addition to the 9 from the small clans, there will be a total of 81 female MPs in the Lower House, a seat shy away from the 82 mark which accounts for 30 percent of the 275 member chamber. The elections of the Upper House will be conducted in the regional state parliaments.
The NLF worked on the assumption that Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions, whose state formation process has dragged on for close to a year now, will have concluded that exercise by September. However, given the challenges the process has taken so far, concluding this process before the election of the Upper House begins in September 25 this year, remains a hard nut to crack for the Federal Government.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Increases Female Voters And Candidates To Beat 30% Threshold For 2016 Polls (Goobjoog News)
- National Leadership Forum(NLF) Calls For The Formation Of Hiiraan And Middle Shabelle Federal State
- SNA Recaptures Training Camp From Al-Shabaab Fighters In Middle Shabelle (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Interior Minister Sacks Kahda DC (Shabelle News)
- More Than 190 Police Recruits Graduate In Baidoa (AMISOM)
- Ilhan Omar Makes History With Victory Over Long-serving Rep. Phyllis Kahn (Star Tribune)
- Kenyan Born Athlete To Represent Somalia At Rio Olympics (Tuko.co.ke)
NATIONAL MEDIA
National Leadership Forum(NLF) Calls For The Formation Of Hiiraan And Middle Shabelle Federal State
10 August – Source: Jowhar.com – 120 Words
Leaders in the National Leadership Forum (NLF) have called on the government to fast-track the establishment of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle state. The formation process stalled due to a dispute that has seriously marred the ongoing conference in Jowhar.In a communique, leaders demanded that the formation of the regional federal states should happen before elections take place in the country. The political leaders said the formation of the federal state for the two regions is crucial and must be done before the scheduled elections take place. Minister for Interior and Federal Affairs, Abdirahman Odawa, has explained that a conference aimed at establishing a state for the two regions will soon reconvene. He has promised that an administration will in place before the elections.
SNA Recaptures Training Camp From Al-Shabaab Fighters In Middle Shabelle
10 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 212 Words
Somali government forces have engaged the Al-Shabaab fighters in a gun battle in a village which lies on the outskirt of Jowhar town. The Somali National Army (SNA) recaptured the village after heavy fighting with Al-Shabaab fighters, according to SNA officials.
The fighting is said to have flared up after the SNA attacked the area in a bid to flush out Al-Shabaab fighters from the village. One of the commanders leading the troops said the troops had conducted operations to weed out Al-Shabaab fighters: “Our soldiers took control of the village and we will move ahead to the remaining areas,” he said.
The fighting to liberate the villages has reportedly resulted into an unspecified number of casualties. Al-Shabaab did not comment on the fighting and attempts to reach the group bore no fruit. Somali government forces, backed African Union troops, have been carrying out operations to recover areas under Al-Shabaab control in Bay, Bakool and Gedo and Lower Shabelle regions.
Although Al-Shabaab were pushed out of key towns in south and central Somalia, the group has been able to hit high-profile targets in Mogadishu’s heavily fortified areas, including government offices and popular gathering places such as hotels. The latest attack happened at Somalia’s CID headquarters in Mogadishu, where over 11 people were killed and more than 20 sustained injuries.
Somali Interior Minister Sacks Kahda DC
10 August – Source:Shabelle News – 102 Words
Federal Government’s Minister for Interior and Federal Affairs, Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein Odawa, has fired Kahda district commissioner Abdullah Hassan Badawi. According to a statement from the minister’s office, Mohamed Ismail Mo’allin was appointed as the new administrator of Kahda replacing Badawi, who has served in the position for a short period.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
More Than 190 Police Recruits Graduate In Baidoa
09 August – Source: AMISOM – 594 Words
A total of 199 police recruits yesterday graduated in Baidoa, the capital of the South West State of Somalia (SWSS), after completing a three-month intensive training programme conducted by the Police Component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The group is the third to graduate in the regional state in the past one-and-a-half years, bringing the total number of police officers who have completed the training programme, to 600.
The colourful pass out parade was witnessed by senior AMISOM and Somali government officials, among them, Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Lydia Wanyoto; Speaker of South West State of Somalia, Abdukadir Sharif Sheikhuna Maye; AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay; Somali Police Force (SPF) Commissioner, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Hamud; representatives from the United Nations and traditional leaders.
DSRCC Lydia Wanyoto, who was the chief guest, congratulated the recruits for completing the training programme and urged them to serve the country diligently. “As you go out to serve your communities, I urge you to discharge your duties with devotion, patriotism and hard work so that you raise the Somali flag high,” Ms Wanyoto said.
The DSRCC observed that the graduation was a significant milestone for the regional state in light of the recent political developments in the country. “The timing is very important because we are preparing for elections in Somalia and having young people ready to secure elections and maintain law and order in communities is very important,” DSRCC Wanyoto observed, adding that the training programme is part of wider efforts to stabilize Somalia before AMISOM exits.
Ilhan Omar Makes History With Victory Over Long-serving Rep. Phyllis Kahn
10 August – Source: Star Tribune – 910 Words
Neighborhood activist Ilhan Omar made history Tuesday by winning a fiercely competitive DFL primary in a Minneapolis House district, which means she likely will become the nation’s first Somali-American legislator next year.
Her victory was all the more remarkable for beating DFL Rep. Phyllis Kahn, a historic figure in her own right who is tied for the longest-serving legislator in state history.
Born in Somalia, Omar, 33, and her family escaped civil war and lived for four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before ultimately moving to the Somali-American neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside, where she has lived for nearly two decades and is currently director of policy initiatives at Women Organizing Women.
Chants of “Ilhan” rung out as Omar walked into a celebration Tuesday night, grinned, wiped away tears and held one of her three children close to her side on her way to a stage. Revelers had to be ushered off the stage. “Tonight we made history,” Omar told the crowd. “Tonight marks the beginning of the future of our district, a new era of representation. Tonight is about the power of you.”She choked up as she thanked her father, husband and children and her late grandfather, whom she credited for teaching her about representative democracy. Many in the audience wiped away tears. “It is with tremendous gratitude that I accept the nomination. I pledge to represent you with integrity and humility,” she said, promising to be a progressive champion.Afterward, she gave another victory speech in Somali.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Mohamed travelled to Mogadishu and was noticed by a trainer in the war-torn nation who trained the youngster until he won five competitions in Somalia which gave him the opportunity to represent Somalia at the Rio Olympics. Mohamed will now challenge Kenyans Caleb Ndiku and Isiah Koech for gold in the 5000 metres the former Kenyan runner has a personal best 0f 14 minutes in the race,”
Kenyan Born Athlete To Represent Somalia At Rio Olympics
08 August – Source: Tuko.co.ke – 324 Words
Every athlete’s dream is to represent his motherland at the prestigious Olympics for Mohamed Daud Mohamed that dream was curtailed by frustrations and lack of opportunities and instead decided to represent another nation that he shared a culture, language and ancestry so as to realise his dreams of participating in the Olympics.
Mohamed was born in Wajir county 20 years ago but will represent Somalia in the 5000 metres at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil. Mohamed had always wanted to run for Kenya even trying his luck to join the Kenya police in 2014 but was rejected. The athlete also participated in competitions in Mombasa but did get the opportunity to be selected for the Kenyan team. Mohamed also travelled twice to Eldoret but was rejected at the training facility. “He has been to Eldoret twice but he has been unwanted in the training camp to the extent whenever he tried to race he was deliberately hit on the knee. He quit and a friend told him to audition for Athletic Somalia,” a relative is quoted.
TOP TWEETS
@fqdayib:My father had many families. As a result, I have a diverse history. Siblings from #Somalia, #Ethiopia, #Kenya,#Uganda & the Middle East.
@SalahOsman0 :Good Morning! My beautiful city of#Mogadishu is re-shaping and getting its pride back #Somalia
@DalsanFM_SOM :#Somalia police cadets dance and celebrate after graduation from the #Baidoa Police academy
@amisomsomalia:Somali women vow to push for gender equality in the next election. http://goo.gl/9RMWbR #Somalia
@fqdayib:An interesting take on #feminism in #Somalia.#womeninpolitics #genderquota Queen Arawelo:The Original Feminist http://www.sscope.co.uk/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Maryan Muse of the Somalia’s Olympic team with Usain Bolt of Jamaica
Photo: @Dahirkulane