Somalia: Farmajo’s Gedo Election Meddling reaches alarming highs

Gedo has been the epicenter of the dispute between Farmajo and Ahmed Madobe and had witnessed clashes and delayed elections. The power struggle caused uncertainty in the region.

News Keydmedia Online
20 April 2022

MOGADISHU, Somalia – As Keydmedia Somali Service reported, the outgoing Somali president Mohamed Farmajo continues to disrupt the finalization of the country’s electoral process.

Farmajo who is illegally in power for 14 months beyond his mandate has dispatched dismissed FEIT members to Garbaharey, his hometown to hold a parallel election for the 16 MP seats.

This came after FEIT relocated the second constituency of Jubaland from Garbaharey to El-Wak town near the Kenyan border located within the Gedo region following the failure to resolve the stalemate.

The transfer of the polling station followed a decision by Gedo authorities to deny an assessment committee sent by the PM to arrive in Garbaharey to evaluate the situation.

The former electoral body officials who reached Garbaharey on Tuesday are mostly NISA agents who joined FEIT on Fahad Yasin’s mission to rig the election for the term-ended President Farmajo.

In December 2021, PM Roble removed seven members from the election dispute committee over bias in handling complaints by the candidates barred from the race for the house seats.

In the start of this month, Roble also sacked two FEIT officials, including its chair Mohamed Hassan Irro and issued a stern warning to several others for derailing the swearing-in-process.

Muse Gelle, FEIT chairman, and other members are in Kismayo city for consultation with Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe over the delayed election of the 16 seats in El-Wak town.

Keydmedia Somali Service learned that Farmajo held a secret meeting with army commanders between the 16th and 17th of April in Villa Somalia on how to stop the upcoming El-Wak election.

Gedo has been the epicenter of the dispute between Farmajo and Ahmed Madobe and had witnessed clashes and delayed elections. The power struggle caused uncertainty in the region.

Somalia has sworn in a new parliament on April 14 in Mogadishu while nearly 20 Lower House seats are still unelected. The new house is set to elect its speaker on the 27th of this month.

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