November 14, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
No Difference Between Al-Shabaab And Anti-government Politicians, Says PM Khayre
14 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 221 Words
Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khayre sent a stern warning to political dissidents he accused of involvement in activities undermining the Somali government likening them to the Al-Shabaab militant group. Speaking at an event where women leaders showed their support for the Somali National Army and upcoming offensive against Al-Shabaab, Prime Minister Khayre said they will never be content with Al-Shabaab cultures and those who oppose his government.”We cannot remain neutral when the reputation of the Somali people is being destroyed and when Al-Shabaab wants to remain in our midst. We cannot remain neutral when our mothers are being massacred,” he noted, adding that it was time to unite for the fight Al-Shabaab.
He said that some of the political dissidents were like Al-Shabaab. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmaajo’ has also recently shared a similar sentiment saying that political opponents of his government are planning to destroy his government. The Ministry of Youth and Sports under Minister Khadija Mohamed Dirie organized the event where the woman showed their readiness to support the Somali National Army in their fight against the militant group. PM Khayre urged them to lead the war against the Al-Qaeda-linked group, saying that Somali women are the rescuers of the nation who took an important role in the independence struggle and during the difficult periods the country faced
Key Headlines
- No Difference Between Al-Shabaab And Anti-government Politicians Says PM Khayre (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali Government Will Continue The Military Operations Against Terrorists (SONNA)
- Somalia: Security Minister Arrives In Kismayo For ‘Urgent’ Talks (Garowe Online)
- Vote Counting Under Way in Somaliland Presidential Election (VOA)
- Africa: Somaliland’s Voting Technology Shows How Africa Can Lead the World (All Africa)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Government Will Continue The Military Operations Against Terrorists
14 November – Source: Somali National News Agency (SONNA) – 212 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia is committed to defeat the terrorist groups, Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State. The government will use all available resources, including foreign military support including our international partners, in particular the United States of America and African forces (AMISOM). All airstrikes and offensive operations taking place in Somalia are well planned, and our leaders sought assurances that all attempts to avoid civilian casualties, all necessary precautions are taken prior launching the airstrikes.
The Minister of Information, Abdirahman Omar Osman thanked Somali people for their support of these military operations against the terrorists, and said “We cannot thank enough the support of our people for saying enough is enough following the 14 October truck bomb attack in Mogadishu. Winning hearts and minds of our people is key to the success of counter terrorism measures in Somalia. The Federal Government will continue the military operations including the use of airstrikes against Al-Shabaab in response to the cowardly attacks against civilians, as well as on Somali security forces and AMISOM.” The Somali National Army, working with the Police, Regional Forces and the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), jointly with AMISOM and other partners, will continue to actively seek out Al-Shabaab strongholds across the country.
Somalia: Security Minister Arrives In Kismayo For ‘Urgent’ Talks
14 November – Source: Garowe Online – 262 Words
The Minister of Internal Security for the Federal Government, Mohamed Abukar Islow Dualle traveled to the southern port city of Kismayo for talks. The Minister accompanied by senior security officials arrived in the city for discussions on the country’s security, and ways to craft a close cooperation between the central government and its member states.
Speaking to the reporters in Kismayo, Abdirashid Hassan Nur “Janan” the security Minister of Jubbaland state, has announced that the Ministers of Security from the Federal States were invited to attend the talks. “This is a consultative meeting aimed at boosting the security and to enhance the cooperation between the security agencies of the Federal member states and the Federal government of Somalia,” said Nur.
The Al Qaeda-linked militant group has carried out deadly bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu in the past few months, including a bloody siege on Nasa-Hablod two hotel, which left 23 people dead. On Oct 14, more than 377 people were killed, hundreds of others wounded in a massive truck bombing on Zoobe junction, a busy Mogadishu street, becoming Somalia’s worst-ever attack in modern history. Following the carnage, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has traveled to Uganda, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, seeking an increased support from neighboring countries for a military offensive against Al-Shabaab to avenge the Oct. 14 truck bombing.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Vote Counting Under Way in Somaliland Presidential Election
13 November – Source: Voice of America (VOA) – 328 Words
Vote counting is underway in Somaliland after the breakaway republic held its presidential election.Three candidates are competing to replace President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, who opted not to seek re-election. The three candidates, Muse Bihi Abdi of the ruling Kulmiye party, Faysal Ali Warabe of UCID and Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the Waddani party, cast their votes Monday in Hargeisa, the capital.
Somaliland’s electoral commission said voting was peaceful in all of the republic’s six regions. It said it recorded an incident in Togdher region where at least one person was injured after a soldier’s gun accidentally discharged. Of the more than 1,600 polling stations, only a few had people in line when voting ended at 6 p.m. Electoral officials closed the stations, but allowed those in line to cast their ballots. Final results are not expected for several days. Under the vote-counting system, polling stations send their results to regional offices, who will pass them on to the electoral commission.
Voting was watched by a total of 60 election observers from 27 countries whose salaries were paid by Britain. The observers said they heard reports of some problems, but not many. “I’m referring to isolated instances, with one of the more serious being in Hargeisa where a polling station was closed down because of a disturbance. That prevented or delayed the closing of the polling station and the count. We’re not sure of details yet,” said the observer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The shift to electronic voting has also influenced the conduct of some observation missions. In Somaliland, electoral observation will in future include examinations of the iris recognition technology. This changes the expertise needed to observe elections. This approach is in sharp contrast with the 2017 Kenya elections.”
Africa: Somaliland’s Voting Technology Shows How Africa Can Lead the World
14 November – Source: All Africa – 868 Words
Africa has become a testing ground for technological leapfrogging. This is a process that involves skipping stages and moving rapidly to the frontiers of innovation. Technological leapfrogging in Africa has, so far, focused on economic transformation and the improvement of basic services. Drones are a good example: they’re used in the continent’s health services and in agriculture. In South Africa, robots play a crucial role in mining. Now, in a remarkable extension of technological leapfrogging, Somaliland has become the first country in the world to use iris recognition in a presidential election. This means that a breakaway republic seeking international recognition will have the world’s most sophisticated voting register.
Somaliland’s shift to such advanced voting technology emerged from a lack of trust because of problems with the 2008 elections. For instance, names were duplicated in the voter register because of pressure from local elders. These fraudulent activities and other logistical issues threatened to undermine Somaliland’s good standing in the international community. Of course, Somaliland is not the only country in Africa to experience problems with its election processes. Others, like Kenya, have also turned to technology to try and deal with their challenges. This is important. Being able to hold free, fair and credible elections is critical in democratic transitions. The lack of trust in the electoral process remains a key source of political tension and violence.
Technology can help – and Somaliland is set to become a regional powerhouse in the production and deployment of the technological know-how that underpins electronic voting. So how did Somaliland reach this point? And what lessons do its experiences hold for other countries? The first lesson, then, relates to political will. Since 1991, Somaliland has operated as an autonomous state trying to build new institutions. One of its central goals is to gain international recognition as a sovereign state. Being able to conduct free, fair, credible and just elections is central to this goal and its international image. Somaliland wants to rank highly in the indices of democratic performance – and that’s a strong driver to develop and embrace electoral practices that are in line with international standards.
The second involves problem-solving and incremental technological learning. Somaliland wanted to reduce voter duplication. It compared the efficacy of different face, finger and iris recognition technologies, and this assessment showed that iris recognition was superior. Pilot efforts then allowed for lessons in the design of the system, which helped to reduce anxiety over the consequences of possible failure during elections. It also made the process transparent; interested users could access the available datasets. This enhanced public trust. Somaliland has also wisely used international experts in biometrics. Much of the debate about the use of electronic voting systems centres on how the technology is procured.
TOP TWEETS
.@Goobjoognews: #SomalilandVotes: Polls Agency @NEC2017on course with vote tallying. Here’s a quick look at facts and figures
.@Goobjoognews: SOMALIA SAYS joint military offensives to continue until Shabaab is defeated –
@FarahmohamudM: Kulmiye and Waddani supporters are flooding in the social media what they called premilary election results, I wonder how many of these numbers are reliable?
.@engyarisow: Somali women came out in public to criticize terrorist groups in #Somalia. Somali women are breadwinners of the society and they promised to take a leading role to bring and stability in the country #NabadiyoNolol #P/CVE
@cadow: Today we’re stronger than yesterday, we’re united to fight for peace, don’t look back, it’s our time, YES IT’S OUR TIME & WE CAN DO IT, Let’s all put our differences aside & stand up for our country, together we can do everything for the sake of our @4NINE2 #KacdoonkaNabadda
@AbdulBillowAli: A must read; #Somaliland’s “democracy” is by no means spotless. Corruption is endemic, and the media are seldom critical. For instance, the lower house has sat for 12 years and counting; the Guurti has sat unelected since it was formed in 1993. #Somalia.
.@mpfsomalia: .@mohamudbeene speaks on behalf of parliament about providing a business friendly environment in Somalia through legislation #SBCF #SomaliJobs
.@JensKiesheyer: Discussing with our Somali partners mechanisms for safety and security for journalists.#ProtectJournalistsEA #FreePress
@SomaliEmbDC: We are incredibly proud of the Somali American Golf Association team participating alongside other members of the Arab Golf Federation in this year’s championship in #Tunis. We wish our junior athletes; Siham, Salma, & Mahamed representing #Somalia all the best as they compete!
IMAGE OF THE DAY
PM, Hassan Ali Khayre addresses an event organized by women leaders to show support for Somali National Army.
Photo: @SomaliPM