S. WEST: Elders declare polls deferred as Fed. Govt insists exercise on

The political situation in South West State Tuesday spiraled into a tug of war between the Federal Government on one side and elders and federal state leaders on the other each side pulling on the opposite direction barely 12 hours after the electoral committee resigned.

The Ministry of Interior and Federalisation issued a statement Tuesday declaring that the elections must go on as planned. The Ministry said the term of the current president Sharif Sheikh Adan expires on November 17 and that elections must be held no later that date.

“The Ministry of Interior, Federalism and Reconciliation is encouraging the committee members and parliamentarians of South West on their constitutional duty to conduct the presidential election of SWS on the specified date,” the ministry said.

But in a sharp rejoinder, the South West council of elders who participated in the appointment of MPs in 2012 and nominated delegates during the 2016/17 elections declared the elections would be put on hold until the current situation calms down.

CIC welcomes resignation of S. West polls committee

The elders accused the federal government of deploying state resources and blatantly interfering with the elections warning Mogadishu will be responsible for anything wrong as a result of failure to adhere to their warning.

Earlier, the Council of Inter-State Cooperation (CIC) welcome the resignation of the state electoral committee while warning the government to keep off the electoral process.

“The Council welcomes the resignation of the members of the electoral committee after they were convicted that the members of parliament who are the base of a free and fair electoral process were abducted,” CIC said.