Hashi, two ministers among six senators elected for Somaliland today

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Six senators were today elected to represent Somaliland in the Senate following lengthy delays amidst a long-running political row between Senate speaker Abdi Hashi and Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled.

Veteran politician Abdi Hashi who served as speaker of Senate from 2016 was re-elected in a landslide victory as his last-minute opponent Said Omar received no vote. Hashi’s ally and political advisor Professor Abdi Samatar, a university don in Minnesota, US floored another don, Professor Mohamed Allabari in the second round to secure a seat in the 54 member chamber.

Osman Dubbe, the federal information minister known for his late-night press conferences beat Abdikarim Hassan to become the third senator. His colleague in the cabinet, Salah Jama (Constitutional Affairs) also rode to victory after thrashing Ibrahim Saleeban.

The fourth fifth seat went to Leyla Ahmed who humbled her male opponent Mohamed Abdi. She becomes the first female senator for Somaliland. Bilal Abdullahi closed the list of the six senators elected today.

The exercise was observed by several representatives from the international community among them UN head in Somalia James Swan and his AMISOM counterpart Francisco Madeira. The 46 delegates are expected to cast their vote for the remaining five seats tomorrow.