October 12, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Risk Of Another Poll Delay As Clans And Regional States Miss Deadlines
11 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 528 Words
A possible election delay is in the offing after clan elders failed to meet the October 10 deadline for submission of lists of delegates who will elect members of the Lower House as regional administrations also miss an extended timeline. Out of the six regional centres which the various clans are spread, only South West whose clans (largely Digil and Merifle) constitute 68 seats to the Lower House had by end of deadline submitted a lists of 2,958 delegates which add up to 58 MPs. Each member of the Lower House is elected by 51 delegates. A survey carried out by Goobjoog News indicates the region is remaining with a list for 11 MPs which is an equivalent of 551 delegates. Though the Lower House elections are based on the 4.5 clan system as opposed to geographic distribution, a mapping out of clans can yield a geographic spread. The other clans spread across Jubbaland, Puntland and Galmudug are yet to submit their lists. These same three regional states had their lists for the Upper House returned by the Federal electoral body FIEIT for failing to meet the 30% threshold for women representation. A two days extension after October 5th deadline to regional administrations to submit lists of delegates lapsed with no lists on sight. Only South West state which also missed the deadline submitted its list two days later which the electoral body certified as having met the 30% threshold for women. The FIEIT and the National Leadership Forum are yet to agree on the polling centres for Somaliland and the newly formed Hirshabelle state.
The Somaliland State Level Indirect Electoral Implementation Team, had had earlier warned of political challenges regarding the lists of both Upper and Lower Houses. The elections of members of the Lower House is set to start October 23 and run through to November 10while that of the Upper House remains unclear though a FIEIT official told Goobjoog News it was to be concluded on October 10. SIEIT officials from Puntland, Galmudug and Jubbaland told Goobjoog News they are in the process of submitting the lists. Noteworthy is that the submission of the lists does not guarantee a move to the next step. The 30% threshold for women remains one of the biggest challenges the electoral body is set to deal with. Should clans fail to meet the quota which indications are clear with that of the Upper House, then the FIEIT will have send back as many lists for re-constitution, a development which could further herald the risk of polls delay. The International Community warned Monday a failure by the regional administrations to reconstitute lists after failing the 30% requirement indicates a risk to further electoral delay. “The 48-hour deadline must be met to enable the respective federal member state assemblies to elect the members of the Upper House without prompting further delays in the overall electoral calendar,” the international partners said in a statement. FIEIT announced last month a one month delay after failing the September and October timelines for MPs and President respectively. Constitutionally, the President’s term ended September 10 while that of Parliament folded up August 19.
Key Headlines
- Risk Of Another Poll Delay As Clans And Regional States Miss Deadlines (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Accuses Somali Government Of Backing Galmudug (Garowe Online)
- Traditional Elders Relate Galkayo Tensions With “Political Motives (Villa Puntland)
- Briton Arrested In Gigiri Al-Shabaab Swoop Identified As Tom James (The Star Kenya)
- Somali Youths Urged To Fully Participate In The 2016 Electoral Process (AMISOM)
- Somali Refugees Decry Empty Promises On Return From Dadaab (News Deeply)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Accuses Somali Government Of Backing Galmudug
11 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 223 Words
The government of northeastern region of Puntland, accusing Somali Federal government troops of supporting Galmudug troops aggression in northern Galkayo. On Monday, Galkayo city, the regional capital of Mudug region has witnessed renewed clashes between Puntland and Galmudug forces, with causalities reported from both sides. “It was on October 9, when Galmudug leader stated that Galkayo city will come under the control of his administration, and then on October 10, Galmudug militias with the support of Somali National Army (SNA) carried out attacks in Galkayo,” read a statement. Puntland government also accused Federal government of fueling the tensions between the two regions by delivering military consignment to Galmudug administration in Cadaado and south Galkayo.
It also noted that Galmudug militias used heavy artillery against civilians in northern Galkayo, which resulted in civilian causalities and destruction of properties. Puntland stated that the recurrent unrest situation in Mudug region is intended to disrupt the Somali elections expected to be held later this year. Last week, Puntland government stated that Galmudug authority in coordination with Al Shabaab militias carried out revenge attacks against civilians in Galkayo. The warring administrations have recently fought over disputed areas in Mudug region, following the collapse of bilateral peace deal in December 2012. Since the overthrow of the country’s central government in 1991, Somalia plunged into clan rivalries and Islamists insurgency.
Traditional Elders Relate Galkayo Tensions With “Political Motives”
11 October – Source: Villa Puntland – 161 Words
Well known traditional elders from Mudug region have spoken out of the deteriorating security situation in Galkayo.The clan leaders cited that there are political motives fueling the infighting in Galkayo the administrative capital of Mudug region.Speaking to a local radio station, Ali Dirie Alore, well known traditional leader in Gal-mudug stated that political agendas are fueling the unrest in Galkayo.“I strongly believe these clashes are fueled by political motives,” Alore said.
More than dozen have died in an on and off confrontation between armed group loyal to Gal-mudug and Puntland police forces in Galkayo.These came days after U.S carried out self-defense strike that targeted senior Al-shabab operatives in Galkayo’s outskirts. Following the strike, provocation calls for revenge against Puntland has dominated the Somali media that later resulted and escalated the current tensions in Galkayo.On the other hand, Puntland government has condemned the clashes which it said was initiated by naked aggression by the Gal-Mudug militias .
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Briton Arrested In Gigiri Al-Shabaab Swoop Identified As Tom James
11 October -Source: The Star, Kenya – 141 Words
A British national and two women of Somali origin were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of being Al-Shabaab trainers and recruiters. Police found items including training literature and books during a raid at their house in the up-market Rosslyn neighbourhood in Gigiri.A security guard said the Briton had been living there for the last three years and is reported to have travelled to Somalia on several occasions.The noon raid was carried out by detectives from Flying Squad and the Special Crime Prevention Unit.The closely-guarded operation was headed by Crime unit boss John Koki. The Star saw tens of plain clothes officers getting into the compound as early as10.30 am.CID chief Ndegwa Muhoro, who visited the house, declined to comment when the Star reached him on phone.But he promised a comprehensive statement on the matter.
Somali Youths Urged To Fully Participate In The 2016 Electoral Process
11 October – Source: AMISOM- 536 Words
Somali youths yesterday held a meeting to chart ways of enhancing their participation in this year’s electoral process.The meeting held on Monday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, follows concerns that the youth have not been fully involved in the electoral process, despite requirements by Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) that young people must be part of the 14,025 delegates who will elect the 275 members of the house of the people. The one-day meeting was organized by the Ministry of Women and Human Rights in conjunction with Save Somali Youth Organization (SASOYO), a non-governmental organization (NGO), with the support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Present at the conference were federal government officials who included the Director of Communication and Awareness in the Ministry of Women and Human Rights, Ms Adar Ali Mohamed; AMISOM Gender Officer, Ms Mane Ahmed; the Chairperson of SASOYO, Ms Naima Adan Elmi; the Deputy Spokesperson of the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT), Ms Nafisa Geedi Santur and the leader of the Gender sub-committee of FIEIT, Ms Saido Musciid. Speaking at the conference, Ms Adar Ali Mohamed, noted that youths, who form 75 percent of the population, must not be left out of the country’s political agenda, saying young people were the future leaders of Somalia.“Since you were educated to serve your country, you must stand to save the country. The youth form 75 percent of the Somali population and therefore should be involved in the political process of the country. The country needs your service,” Ms Mohamed stated.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Somali refugees who lived for decades in Kenya’s Dadaab camp are returning to Somalia via a repatriation program, only to find a fragile peace and shortage of supplies,”
Somali Refugees Decry Empty Promises On Return From Dadaab
11 October – Source: News Deeply – 889 Words
On the outskirts of this commercial port town in Somalia’s southernmost, border state of Jubaland, makeshift displacement camps are swelling with vulnerable families.They are part of a wave of Somali refugees returning from neighboring Kenya under a U.N.-facilitated voluntary repatriation program, which many aid agencies say does not give refugees a genuine choice.Many returnees are dismayed by what they find upon return to Somalia. Outside Kismayo, some 16,000 newly arrived refugees are currently camped in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in meager shelters that they built themselves, with little access to medical care and no schools. In 2013, the Kenyan government, United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Somali federal government reached a collaborative agreement on “voluntary repatriation.” UNHCR is tasked with transporting the refugees back to Somalia; most by truck, some by air.Between December 2014 and the end of September 2016, 30,731 Somali refugees from Dadaab went through the repatriation process. Most of them – 24,630 refugees – returned to Somalia in 2016, amid mounting pressure from the Kenyan government.
Kenya announced in May it would permanently close Dadaab refugee camp – home to more than 320,000 Somalis spanning several generations – and send all Somali refugees home by the end of 2016. Health care services in the camp had already been reduced since 2014, and food rations cut by a third.Some returnees who arrived in Kismayo this year said they chose repatriation because they could no longer feed their families in Dadaab. Others said they feared being forced to leave Kenya without any support at all if they didn’t; the UNHCR’s repatriation package provides cash allowances of around $2,400 per family of six over a period of six months after their arrival. It is unclear if and what type of support will be available after this period. Some refugees left spontaneously with the sanctioned waves of returnees and did not register their departure with UNHCR, rendering them ineligible for the repatriation aid package, according to staff at the Kismayo reception center.The majority of the returnees are women, children, the elderly and the disabled – “the most vulnerable sectors of society,” according to The American Refugee Committee, an aid group providing some health care and child protection in the camps.Yet there is very limited health care for the returnees living in the camps, and medical care in Kismayo town is expensive. The camps have few decent running water sources or latrines, leaving thousands of people at risk of disease.