October 20, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Jubbaland And South West States Finish Senate Polls As 5 Quit Race In Baidoa
19 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 358 Words
Jubbaland senatorial elections concluded Wednesday evening with a marginal vote for women as men took up seven slots out of eight. Muslimo Abdirahman, a female candidate dropped her bid for the senate seat shortly before the votes were casted for the seat she was contesting. Her exit from the race resulted in male majority representation for Jubbland. Zeynab Abdi Samaw, another female candidate lost to former Jubbaland Vice President Abdullahi Ismail Fartaag who garnered a majority 55 votes. Fadumo Hassan Adan beat her competitor Waris Abdi Mohamud who was also vying for the same seat. A total of 67 MPs participated in the exercise. Professor Mohamed Abdi Gandi a seasoned politician in Jubbaland who fought alongside current President Ahmed Madobe until Kenya soldiers entered Kismayo in 2012 lost out to Ahmed Hashi Mohamed 26-40.
In South West Administration voting which was expected to run into late night or Thursdaymorning ended unexpectedly after five candidates out of ten who were yet to contest dramatically dropped their bid handing automatic tickets to the remaining five. The circumstances under which the five quit was not immediately clear. Three candidates had been elected by late Wednesday afternoon. They were Abdikafi Maalim Hasan, Ilyas Ali Hassan & Timiro Mohamed Ali. Zamzam Ibrahim Ali was the second female senator for the state. Those who were declared senators after their opponents dropped their bids were Hussein Sheikh Ahmed, Abdullahi Ali Garuun, Zamzam Ibrahim Ali, Aden Abdi Aden and Abdullahi Mohamed Abdi. Puntland state assembly will elect its senators on Thursday. The state was allocated 11 seats alongside Somaliland. All the other member states have 8 seats.
Key Headlines
- Jubbaland And South West States Finish Senate Polls As 5 Quit Race In Baidoa (Goobjoog News)
- HiirShabelle New President To Meet Federal Leaders In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Upper House Candidates Concluded Their Campaign Speech (Garowe Online)
- Al Jazeera Journalist Hamza Mohamed Detained In Somalia (Aljazeera)
- Death Toll In Attack On Southern Somali Town Rises To 11 (Reuters)
- Somalia Faces Election Challenges (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
HiirShabelle New President To Meet Federal Leaders In Mogadishu
19 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 131 Words
Hir-shabelle new President Ali Abdullahi Osoble reached Mogadishu from state’s capital Jowhar. Ali Osoble is scheduled to meet with Federal leadership in Mogadishu and officials from the UN Mission in Somalia. Speaking to media at Jowhar Airport on his way to Mogadishu, Hir-shabelle regional state president said he will have consultations with people from the newly formed state and the International community in Mogadishu. “This is my first trip since I was elected, and this time, i am going to Mogadishu to meet and make consultations with people of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle, and I will also meet with the International Community” said Osoble. Ali Abdullahi Osoble has been elected the new president of Hirshabble state two days ago from nine month state formation conference In Jowhar.
Upper House Candidates Concluded Their Campaign Speech
19 October – Source: Garowe Online – 306 Words
Candidates contesting for the Upper House seats have concluded their campaign speech at Puntland Parliament Hall on Wednesday. Over 22 candidates contesting for the 11 seats quota to represent Puntland State in the Upper House chamber of the Federal Parliament have presented their concluding speeches in the presence of the Speaker of Puntland Parliament and Deputy Speakers, as well as government and security officials, ahead of the expected ballot on Thursday. Speaker of the Parliament, Ahmed Ali Hashi, officially opened the session, and commended the candidates for their participation in the process, whereas Puntland’s State Indirect Electoral Implementation team (SIEIT), noted that all candidates had satisfied panel’s conditions and are most worthy to represent Puntland people.
On the other hand, former Puntland President, Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, whose contesting for the Upper House seat, during his speech has talked about his past achievement, that included his role to end the transitional mandate of the Somali government and implementing federalism in the country. He also noted that he is a PhD holder and has greatly contributed to the country during his past tenures in Puntland and Somalia. In his speech to the MPs, Farole has reiterated his commitment to serve the interest of the Somali people if he is elected to the Upper House chamber. Other candidates have also talked about their campaign’s agenda, which included reconstruction, Justice, Security, education and the development of the country’s infrastructure. The ballot for Upper House seats is set to take place at Puntland Parliament on Thursday, where over 22 candidates will race for the 11 seats quota. Somalia announced it will hold inclusive electoral elections for the first time in 47 years. Lower House election is expected to take place between 23 October and 10 November and will conclude in a vote by new lawmakers for a new president on 30 November.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al Jazeera Journalist Hamza Mohamed Detained In Somalia
19 October- Source: Al Jazeera English – 127 Words
Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Mohamed has been detained by Somali security agents in the capital Mogadishu.Mohamed, a British national, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon along with a driver, fixer and cameraman.He had been in Somalia for a week on a reporting assignment. Mohamed has frequently travelled to the country over the past few years to cover politics,economics and culture for Al Jazeera “with accuracy and integrity”, according to a statement released by Al Jazeera Media Network on Wednesday. The Federal Republic of Somalia informed Al Jazeera that Mohamed was being held for questioning and there were no charges against him.Al Jazeera said it has been in touch with Mohamed since his detention and “is hoping … that he will be released without further delay”.
Death Toll In Attack On Southern Somali Town Rises To 11
19 October – Source: Reuters – 139 Words
A suicide car bomb and gun attack in the Somali town of Afgoye on Tuesday killed 11 people, including government employees, an official said, raising the initial death toll from four. Militants from the Al-Shabaab group, which has been carrying out a series of deadly attacks in the country, drove a bomb-laden car into a police station, while others engaged security forces in a gunfight. “Eleven people died, including police and civil servants,” Abdinasir Moalim, the district commissioner for Afgoye, told Reuters on Wednesday. Six attackers were also killed, he said. Afgoye is about 30 km (20 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. The police station, which was built with funding from the United Arab Emirates, was destroyed in the attack, the district commissioner said, adding calm had returned and the government was in full control of the town.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“So far, we are not seeing much complaint,” said Qanyare. “But anyway, wherever elections happen, there are people who will complain and people who will say it’s not fair. Even in the first world. So, legitimacy at the moment is fine.”
Somalia Faces Election Challenges
19 October – Source: VOA – 539 Words
America’s presidential elections may be getting much of the world’s attention right now, but in the Horn of Africa, another country’s electoral season is also underway. Somalia hopes to elect a president, as well as members of two houses of parliament, by the end of November. Somali parliament member Abdiweli Qanyare says overall, the election process is going smoothly. “So far, we are not seeing much complaint,” said Qanyare. “But anyway, wherever elections happen, there are people who will complain and people who will say it’s not fair. Even in the first world. So, legitimacy at the moment is fine.” The Special Representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Somalia, Michael Keating, says there are challenges in conducting the elections, like security threats, since Somalia is attempting to recover from three decades of war and lawlessness, while still battling threats from Al-Shabaab. Also, there is the absence of a national ID system, and a lack of institutional capacity and memory. “I’m cautiously optimistic that this is going to go well, even though it’s going to be very messy and even though, as somebody said to me, it is possibly the most complicated electoral process on planet Earth, of all time,” said Keating.
New parliament: There will be a new federal parliament, consisting of an upper and lower house. State assemblies will elect the 54 members of the upper house. The lower house will consist of 275 members, elected by 14,025 delegates selected by 135 clan elders.Voting for upper house candidates has begun, while polls for the lower house are scheduled to start Sunday, Oct 23. Both houses will then elect Somalia’s president onNovember 30. But not everyone, including Abdi Samatar, a Somali-born economic geographer at the University of Minnesota, is pleased with the arrangement. “This is not an election, Jill, it’s a selection,” said Samatar. “A group of people are going to pick up candidates for parliament. Ordinary citizens have no way of influencing that, in any sense of the word. So it’s really a charade of a selection, of an election, I should say.”