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Gedo parliamentary elections begin in Garbaharey as polls in Elwak close

A separate parliamentary election for the Gedo constituency began on Saturday in the regional capital Garbaharey.

Duale Adan Mohamed was declared the winner for seat HOP199. The seat was previously held by Somalia’s Minister of Education, Abdullahi Arab, who was re-elected Friday in Elwak in a parallel election. 

Former federal Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs, Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein, known as Awar, was elected in Garbaharey. He won the seat HOP078. ‎

Former Jubbaland Deputy Minister Mohamed Nur Buule Dhay won the poll for HOP122‎. Jubaland’s Minister of Planning & International Cooperation, Mursal Khaliif, was declared the winner for that seat in Elwak.

Mohamud Magan, a two-term member of Somalia’s parliament, was declared the winner of HOP123. Fatuma Farah Adan  (Fatuma Nine), who sits as a regional MP in Jubaland, won the election for HOP123 on Friday in Elwak.

Abdiaziz Haji Hassan, who currently occupies HOP100, was re-elected to parliament in the Garbaharey election, and Isaaq Hoorow Hassan won seat HOP091.

Parliamentary elections for 16 seats in the Gedo region are being held in two separate cities. The two parallel polls are run by competing members of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team, and both claim to be the legitimate election. Jubaland announced on Sunday that it had concluded the Elwak election for the 16 seats from Gedo.

The ‘Gedo question‘ has been a political thorn in Somalia since the beginning of the electoral cycle over a year ago. Somali leaders could not compromise on where the election would be held and who would be responsible for organizing it. 

The September 17th agreement stipulated that Garbaharey would be the designated election venue and that the Jubaland administration would be responsible for organizing it. However, Jubaland officials have accused the federal government and local officials in Garbaharey of stalling the process by not allowing officials into the city, among other complaints.

HOL learned in mid-March that the Jubaland government was finalizing plans to move the election venue to the border town of Elwak.

 

Somalia’s President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo said that the separate elections in Garbaharey and Elwak violated the September 17 agreement and called for an immediate national leadership convention.
 

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