National Leadership Forum settles electoral differences paving way for August polls
The National Leadership Forum which concluded Tuesday in Mogadishu has agreed on a raft of measures in preparation for the national elections set for July and August this year.
Among the agreements which are subject to parliamentary approval include the formation of two committees at Federal and State level which will be tasked with overseeing the elections for the Lower and Upper Houses.
The first committee will be the National Level Committee which will be made up of 17 members, five of which will be appointed by the Federal Government and 11 others by the regional states.
Regional level
The second will the State Level Committee composed of 11 members; three appointed by the Federal Government and the eight others from the regional governments. It is not however clear if Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan in addition to Banaadir will participate in the selection. The government had indicated though in the past Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan will be considered as a full state while Banaadir whose headquarters is Mogadishu will be given special consideration.
However the role of the National Independent Electoral Commission has not been captured in the talks despite it being tasked by the constitution as the principal body responsible for organising and conducting elections.
A draft document seen by Goobjoog News earlier says the electoral body ‘will have a role on technical issues (ballot paper design/ printing, preparation of voting centres, etc.)’.
Elections
The elections for both the Lower and Upper Houses will be conducted in the respective Federal State parliaments, the Forum said in a communiqué Tuesday.
The meeting comes following the conclusion of talks between the Federal Government and Puntland in which the latter agreed to the government’s position on the 4.5 clan based electoral formula in the election of the Lower House members.
The meeting which brought together the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and all the federal state leaders safe for Somaliland also resolved that 50 delegates from each sub clan will participate in the election of each Member of Parliament. This will therefore mean a total of 13,750 delegates will participate in the election of the Lower House members.
Electoral caucus
A total of 135 elders, the same number which participated in the nomination of MPs in 2012 will be tasked with vetting the electoral caucus from every clan.
Article 189 of the 2012 Provisional Constitution contemplates the election of the president by a joint sitting of Lower and Upper Houses meaning a total of 329 MPs will elect the next president. The Lower House is made up of 275 members while the 54 make up the Upper House.
The constitutional review conference will be held in Garowe from May 10 to 20th of the same month, the communiqué notes. However the National Consultative Forum which is made of the president, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and the regional state leader will meet in advance to iron on key and sensitive articles in the constitution.