January 28, 2016 | Morning Headlines

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COMMUNIQUE ON THE ELECTORAL MODEL FOR 2016

The National Leaders Forum (NLF) was reconvened in Mogadishu on the 24th of January 2016. The conference was hosted by the Federal Government of Somalia and was attended by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, the 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mahad Awad, President of Puntland Abdiweli Ali Gaas, President of Jubbaland Ahmed Mohamed Islam, President of South-West Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, President of Galmudug Abdikarim Hussein Guled, Ministers and respective delegates from the Federal Government and Federal Members States.

During the two days of the meetings, the Federal Government and Regional State Leaders continued to deliberate on the negotiations that were embarked on at the recent Kismayo Conference and made every effort to reach a compromise on the Electoral Process for 2016 and its implementation plan.

Considering the limited time, the security challenges and the expectations of the public for an outcome, the stakeholders underscored the need to finalize the deliberations on electoral model for 2016.
Having acknowledged the expectations of the Somali people that there shall be no extension to the Constitutional mandates of the current Federal Government institutions.
Noting that the National Consultative Forum presented the National Leaders Forum sufficient time to contest their positions to allow for more time and space to reach an agreement on the electoral model for 2016.
Conceding that the lengthy negotiations had not produced a consensus decision on the electoral model as specified in the Mogadishu Declaration of 16 December, the Federal Government of Somalia recognized the necessity to put forward a balanced position to guarantee an election for 2016.
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud shared the position of the Federal Government of Somalia at the meeting of the participants and in the presence of International Partners on 24th January 2016.
The Federal Government of Somalia led by the Prime Minister H.E. Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke today met with the participants of the conference and expressed the need to consider the Federal Government position. The international partners welcomed the proposal while the regional leaders noted with interest and concern.
In accordance with the Mogadishu Declaration of 16 December that the electoral process in 2016 shall involve the formation of both the Lower House and the Upper House of Parliament, the Federal Government noted the need for the Parliament as a whole to have representation based on balance between constituency and clan.

On this context, the Federal Government shares the below positions as the best scenario for holding elections in 2016;

LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT:

The number of parliamentary seats in the Lower House will be 275.
Seats in the Lower House of Parliament will be allocated according to the 4.5 formula.
A minimum quota of 30% of the seats in the Lower House of Parliament shall be reserved for women.
Voting and counting takes place in each of the capitals of the existing and emerging Federal member states (with special arrangements for Somaliland).

UPPER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT:

The Upper House of Parliament shall be established before the formation of the Lower House of Parliament.
The Upper House of Parliament will consist of 54 members.
48 of the members of the Upper House of Parliament will be distributed equally among Somalia’s existing, emerging and prospective Federal member states (Somaliland, Puntland, Galmudug, Hiraan/Middle Shabelle, South-West, Jubbaland)
The remaining 6 members of the Upper House of Parliament will be divided equally between Somaliland and Puntland, reflecting both their political status and maturity and the fact that they encompass the largest numbers of regions.
A minimum quota of 30% of the seats in the Upper House of Parliament shall be reserved for women.
Members of the Upper House of Parliament should be elected by the caucuses of the regional assemblies in each existing and emerging Federal member state.

The Federal Government of Somalia wishes to express its gratitude to the Regional leaders, the Somalia public and our international partners for their efforts in moving the country forward. We assert that this electoral arrangement will be a measure for 2016 and look forward to the day our people will exercise the right to vote.

Key Headlines

Communique On The Electoral Model For 2016 (OPM)
Hillary Clinton Says What She Believes About The Somalis In The US (Somali Current)
Puntland President Meets UN Envoy To Somalia As Election Talks Stand Off Remains Unresolved ( Villa Puntland)
Kenya Honors Troops Slain In Somalia With Memorial Service (Associated Press)
UAE Ambassador In Somalia Meets Presidents Of Puntland And Jubaland Regions s(Emirate News Agency )
Somali Youth In One Maine City Are Learning To Navigate Several Cultures (PRI)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Hillary Clinton Says What She Believes About The Somalis In The US

29 January – Source: Somali Current – 298 Words

The Somali community in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and in the State of Minnesota have been handed a lifeline following this week’s comment by the democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton who termed the Somalis peaceful and not terrorist sympathizers as frequently said on the media.Hillary while receiving questions from her supporters was asked what she thought about the Somalis in the State to which she replied that they were on the forefront in engaging people who radicalize their youth in the community.“On the campaign trail I got to meet Somalis in the city of Minneapolis who stated that they were on the front line against terror and radicalization,” Hillary said.

She called on the Americans to unite against terror, saying terrorist did not subscribe to any religion but was a vile ideology.According to a congressional release in mid 2015, the State of Minnesota had the highest number of recruits who moved to the Middle East since the civil war in Syria started. The same report was backed by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security.The report said that, “Young fighters from at least 19 states have tried to join terrorists in Syria since the start of that country’s civil war in 2011. Minnesota recruits made up 26 percent of the sample of 58 cases reviewed by the committee’s bipartisan task force.”

Sadik Warfa, deputy director of the Global Somali Diaspora based in Minneapolis said “This report is alarming and it’s really very worrisome.“I worry about the stigma and the prospect of our community being marginalized. But in the end, it’s up to us as Somali-Americans to really change our image. And as Minnesotans, we need to be asking what can we do to put these kinds of people into our mainstream here instead of over there.”

Puntland President Meets UN Envoy To Somalia As Election Talks Stand Off Remains Unresolved

27 January – Source: Villa Puntland – 196 Words

The President of Puntland Government H:E Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas along with senior Puntland officials have yesterday met with the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Michael Keating and the SRSG deputy in Mogadishu.

Main issues discussed in the meeting between the President of Puntland and the United Nations Ambassador to Somalia include the ongoing election talks in Mogadishu as stand off on the mode of elections is so far no closer to being resolved.H:E Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas told Ambassador Keating the opinion of the people of Puntland regarding the mode of election to be conducted in the country which the President clearly said its ‘District Representation’ model.

Similarly, the President of Somalia’s Puntland Government, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has reiterated that Puntland will remain committed into toiling towards realising more legitimate government in the country which can heal the Somali people from two-decade-old wounds.H:E Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Michael Keating jointly forewarned delay of the upcoming presidential elections in the country in 2016.Finally, the President noted that Puntland will not accept term extension, calling for immediate solution to the current political crisis in the country.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya Honors Troops Slain In Somalia With Memorial Service

27 January – Source: Associated Press- 126 Words

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta leads an interfaith memorial service honoring Kenyan soldiers killed while on peacekeeping duty in Somalia.President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the event Wednesday at a military barracks in Eldoret.In Nigeria Buhari faces the Boko Haram extremist insurgency while Mohamud’s government in Somalia relies on foreign troops to protect against the Islamic extremists al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab claims it killed about 100 Kenyan peacekeepers stationed in southern Somalia on January 15. Kenyan officials have not given a death toll, and it is unclear how many Kenyan peacekeepers have been killed or wounded in Somalia since they deployed in 2011.Before the ceremony started, relatives of the victims were seen being counselled as some broke down in tears.

UAE Ambassador In Somalia Meets Presidents Of Puntland And Jubaland Regions

27 January – Source:Emirates News Agency – 194 Words

Mohammed Ahmed Othman Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Somalia, has met with Abdiweli Gas, President of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region, at the embassy headquarters in the capital Mogadishu.During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Somalia, and the President of the Puntland region expressed his thanks and appreciation for the UAE’s efforts and the continuous support it provides Somalia in general and Puntland in particular, in various fields.

The UAE ambassador also expressed his thanks and appreciation to President Gas in his efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries, and hosted a dinner banquet in the president’s honour at the embassy’s headquarters.Al Hammadi also met with Ahmed Mohamed Islam, President of Jubaland, at the embassy, and discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Somalia, and the Jubaland region in particular.The president expressed his thanks and appreciation to the UAE for its continuous support of the developmental and economic fields in his country, especially in his governorate.The UAE ambassador thanked the president for his efforts in consolidating relations between the two countries and for supporting the stability and security process in Somalia.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“But Ali, who wears a colorful hijab, says she reassures her parents that liking hip-hop doesn’t mean she’s any less Muslim — or Bantu. Back at Tree Street, the doors have just opened for the day. A shy Bantu boy is already waiting outside. Volunteers are here too, including Ali — now helping other young Bantu navigate their identity in a new but divided city,”

Somali Youth In One Maine City Are Learning To Navigate Several cultures

26 January – Source: PRI – 803 Words

You can feel the tension in Lewiston, Maine. The working class city has faced closed textile mills, factories moving overseas and new immigrants, some in traditional Muslim dress, bumping up against white people who were born here.“Folks are struggling in this community and they’re looking for someone to blame,” says Genevieve Lysen, a community organizer.

Part of Lysen’s work is with African refugees — some who now run businesses that have revitalized the city’s downtown. Paul LePage, Maine’s Tea Party-backed governor, has publicly suggested that federal assistance gives Somalis an unfair advantage. “So when a leader like Governor LePage says that you’re poor because the Somali person living next to you isn’t, then you’re quick to blame your neighbor,” Lysen says.

Lewiston’s Mayor Robert MacDonald has also said government support for refugees must end — and that Somalis aren’t doing enough to integrate themselves in the city.Fighting racism here unites Somalis. But cultural and historical differences linked to their home country divide them, too. Muhidin Libah is a leader of Lewiston’s Bantu Somalis. They’re descendant of 19th-century slaves in Somalia — and are physically and culturally distinct from what he calls regular or ethnic Somalis. Bantu Somalis started arriving in Lewiston about six years after the first wave of ethnic Somalis.

Libah says his countrymen weren’t so welcoming.”If there are three Somalis sitting in a bar or in a café and a Somali Bantu person shows up, they will all stand up and leave,” he explains. “So now we started having our own café. We start having our own shop. So, we’re doing our own thing.”Fatuma Ali and her family arrived into all this at age 9. She’s Bantu Somali and 19 now. Looking back, she says she knew she was seen a certain way by some Somalis.”I hate to be labeled, but when people think of me as Bantu they look at me and they’re like, ‘Hmm, she’s probably not going to go anywhere,'” she says.But she did. Ali is now a nursing student at the University of Southern Maine. She’s the first in her family to go to college, and joins a growing number of young Bantu Somalis in Lewiston defying the poverty and prejudice that have followed them from Africa to America.”It makes me very responsible,” Ali says. “I have to be the responsible one, the one that brings things to the family. Basically I’m holding a very powerful seat in the house right now.”