February 6, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Changes Presidential Election Venue, Citing Transparency Concerns
04 February – Source: VOA News – 453 Words
The venue for Somalia’s presidential election next week has been moved from the police academy to inside the Mogadishu airport because of concerns about security and possible corruption.Sources close to the candidates and the electoral commission reported the news to VOA’s Somali service on Saturday. The move came after 18 of the 24 presidential candidates wrote to the election commission, expressing concern about a number of issues, including security and corruption, sources confirmed.The 329 members of the upper and lower houses of parliament will vote for the president Wednesday. A candidate must get two-thirds of the vote to win outright in the first round; observers think a first-round victory by any candidate is highly unlikely. Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, one of the candidates, told VOA he was one of those who signed the letter to the commission.
The letter demanded a change of venue.Warsame said the candidates lost confidence in the original venue after reports emerged that the commander of the police publicly expressed support for the current president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.”The lights in the venue [the police academy] can be turned off in the middle of the election. We don’t know who will control the gates, and it’s not a neutral venue,” he told VOA’s Somali service.
During a speech at a ceremony in late December, the police commander, General Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, told Mohamud that he could “count on” votes by former police officers who now have become members of the parliament.Warsame said candidates seeking a venue change also thought the police academy was vulnerable to possible “acts of corruption.””Some candidates may try to smuggle money into the venue, so we asked to be changed,” Warsame said.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Changes Presidential Election Venue Citing Transparency Concerns (VOA)
- Major Roads In Mogadishu To Be Closed Tomorrow Ahead Of Feb 8 Presidential Poll (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Police Foil Bomb Attack In Beledweyne (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali Commandos Detain Police Officer In Leego Area (Shabelle News)
- Somalia On Brink Of Another Famine United Nations Warns (Globe & Mail)
- Somali Presidential Polls Are On Course Oversight Election Committee Affirms (AMISOM)
- Somalia Needs A New Broom (The Star)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Major Roads In Mogadishu To Be Closed Tomorrow Ahead Of Feb 8 Presidential Poll
05 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 218 Words
Major roads in Mogadishu will be closed from tomorrow evening until the presidential election is concluded on Wednesday next week, Mogadishu mayor Yusuf Jima’ale has said. Jima’ale who is also Banaadir region governor said security forces will carry out the order sealing off most roads leading to the central business district as presidential hopefuls gather in the city for the February 8 poll.
The mayor called on city residents to be patient and bear with the inconvenience as they have done before when foreign leaders or other high profile events happen in Mogadishu. “The people of Mogadishu have been very patient on a number of times when roads are closed because of the elections or international meetings. I am requesting you again to be patient for the coming two days as major roads will remain closed,” said Jima’ale.
The mayor also extended his request to schools and universities to consider giving the students a break during this period to avoid any strain as a result of the security measures. The roads which will be affected include Tarabuunka, Wadnaha, Madiino and Makka Al-mukarrama. The move comes amid concerns the militant group Al-Shabaab could disrupt the elections. Somali security forces and African Union forces have reinforced security in most parts of the city ahead of the all-important exercise next Wednesday.
Somali Police Foil Bomb Attack In Beledweyne
05 February – Source : Hiiraan Online – 108 Words
Police in Beledweyne said they had thwarted an attempted bomb attack targeting government forces on Saturday after an IED placed on a well-travelled road was defused by security forces. Police Commissioner Ali Abdulle told reporters that the road is used by Somali and AU forces regularly and added that Al-Shabaab is the likely culprit. “We managed to pull out and dismantled a bomb on the road which the Somali and AU forces travel on regularly. “We believe Al-Shabaab planted them to target the forces,” said Abdulle. He called on locals to cooperate with the police and to report any suspicious activity and foreign objects left on the road.
Somali Commandos Detain Police Officer In Leego Area
05 February – Source : Shabelle News – 97 Words
Somali commando units are reported to have arrested the police chief of Leego district in Lower Shabelle region over setting up of illegal roadblocks in the area to collect money from passenger buses. Confirming the arrest, Abukar Isack Al Adala, Leego district administrator said the commandos in collaboration with AMISOM forces detained the police officer identified only as Gudcur from his house. The police boss is currently in custody, and under going further questioning, according to Al Adala. Meanwhile, no further information was available from the area police officials about the officer’s detention.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia On Brink Of Another Famine, United Nations Warns
05 January – Source: Globe & Mail – 770 Words
With their escape route to the United States endangered by the orders of President Donald Trump, the people of Somalia now face a new threat: a looming famine that could bring starvation to millions.Just six years after a famine that killed a quarter of a million Somalis, the United Nations is warning that the war-ravaged country could face another catastrophe this year, unless there is a “massive and urgent” increase is humanitarian aid.Somali refugees are already suffering two other crises.
A crackdown by Kenya and the United States has jeopardized their hopes of finding haven abroad. And a continuing insurgency by Islamist militants has made it dangerous to return home.After two consecutive seasons of failed rains and widening drought in Somalia, hunger and malnutrition are spreading. Even as the country is still recovering from the last famine, more than half of its entire population needs humanitarian aid today, the UN says.Since September, the number of Somalis needing humanitarian assistance has increased from five million to 6.2 million, the UN says.
Relief agencies say the warning signs in Somalia today are similar to those in the months before the 2011 disaster – the worst famine of the 21st century. The world paid little attention to the repeated warnings issued by relief agencies at that time, until the famine struck. Only then did large-scale aid begin to flow. This time, agencies are pleading for donors to take action before famine hits.Children are again suffering the worst effects. About 363,000 acutely malnourished children are in desperate need of “critical nutrition support,” according to Peter de Clercq, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Somalia.
Somali Presidential Polls Are On Course, Oversight Election Committee Affirms
05 February – Source : AMISOM – 389 Words
The Chairperson of the 17-member Presidential Election Committee Mr. Abdirahman Beileh says preparations for Somalia’s much-awaited presidential polls are complete and the election will take place as scheduled. “The President is elected by the public and so we are representatives of the public. We are listening to them, we have given a commitment that we will do our best, to select the best on their behalf,” Beileh said. “So I want to tell the Somali people, I want to assure them that we will be true to our commitment to our country, our commitment to them and the nation in general, that we will do our best to select the best in the group,” he asserted.
The ballot scheduled for February 8 2017, will draw curtains on an electoral process that began in October 2016. “The election will take place on 8th February. We planned taking into consideration all factors that can be expected and therefore we have no reason to doubt that on the eighth, toward the end of day, we will have a president,” Beileh said.
Twenty-three presidential candidates are eyeing the hotly contested seat, as the election committee puts in place strict rules to govern the process and ensure transparency. “Everybody is determined that this process is carried out in a manner in line with the international rules and regulations. It will be credible, it will be transparent. I have absolutely have no reason to believe otherwise,” Mr. Beileh affirmed. Strict procedures on balloting have also been put in place, to minimise risks of rigging, he said. Beileh says to avoid incidences of ballot stuffing, the ballot papers will be printed inside the voting hall, shortly before the onset of balloting.
“Ballot papers will be printed from within the election room, they are not going to be printed from outside. The printed ballots will be exactly equal to the number of Parliamentarians present. Once everybody has voted, there should be no balance of papers. That is one way of ensuring that there are no other papers lying around,” he explained.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“Somalia and the region badly need peace and stability and that’s significant investments are needed to build a unified national army that is well-paid, equipped and trained to restore law and order. The current security forces are not only poorly funded and trained but are also built along clan lines, making them less effective,”
Somalia Needs A New Broom
03 February – Source: The Star, Kenya – 663 Words
Somalia is expected to elect a new President on February 8 as the country strives to overcome its history of decades-old conflict.About 24 candidates have been cleared to run for the top post and their fate will be decided by 329 members of the Lower and Upper Houses who will elect the new President. But the question dominating political discussions among many Somali nationals is whether the legislators will heed the public’s heightened calls for reforms to elect a new reformist technocrat to steer the country’s destiny for the next four years.This comes amid deep public frustrations over persistent failure by current and past career politicians to fix security, tackle runaway corruption, restore vital services and enhance good governance.
A host of former top leaders are seeking another chance in office including incumbent President Mohamud, former President Sheikh Sharriff Ahmed, and former Prime Ministers Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, and Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo among others. But time has come to bet on a technocratic and reformist leadership in Somalia.Currently, there is a serious leadership crisis in Somalia that is unable to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges including the recurrent devastating drought that has left at least 3.5 million Somali nationals in desperate hunger.
The aspirants who have served as Presidents and former Prime Ministers in the recent past have failed to deliver on what Somali nationals really need. Their past record in office is a clear vote of no-confidence against them.All the different elements needed to rebuild Somalia are there. The only element lacking is a visionary and technocratic leadership.For instance, the management of public resources under successive Somali governments has been dismal, with precious government resources getting lost through high-level corruption and bureaucratic wastage.