Electoral Dispute Resolution Committee validate Fahad Yassin’s election

The Federal Electoral Dispute Resolution Committee has validated the election of six seats, including the seat recently won by Fahad Yasin, President Farmajo’s national security adviser and former director of Somalia’s intelligence agency.

The Dispute Resolution Committee said it had received a report from the Hirshabelle Electoral Dispute Resolution Committee, which told them that no formal complaint had been lodged concerning the election in Beledweyne on Sunday.

On Monday, the chairman of the Somali federal electoral commission, Muse Guelleh Adan, suspended the result of Fahad Yasin’s election, calling the process “misguided” and “flawed.” 

The institutions and mechanisms designed to regulate Somalia’s elections have been paralyzed by disputes and infighting among its leaders. The previous chairman of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team (FEIT), Mohamed Hassan Irro, was sacked in late December with a near-unanimous vote by members of the 18-person electoral commission. They cited his political bias, corruption and incompetence as their reason for ousting him. Irro was widely seen as an ally of Villa Somalia.

Despite public protest from candidates and members of the electoral commission, The Federal Electoral Dispute Resolution Committee validated the controversial results of acting NISA Director Yasin Farey’s election in Dhusamareb in mid-December.