Electoral agencies in Somalia receive training on election safety and security

In order to ensure the credibility and overall success of the forthcoming election, members of Somalia’s Election implementation teams with the mandate to manage Somalia’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections are undergoing a two-day training on Safety and Security in Mogadishu, Somalia.

The training which started earlier on Sunday was facilitated by the Political Affairs office and jointly led by the Police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali Police Force.

The training which is based on electoral safety and security were attended by over 50 members of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team (FEIT) and State Electoral Implementation Team (SEIT).

The two election management agencies are expected to coordinate and organize the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections at both the Federal government and Federal Member State (FMS) levels in line with the international democratic standard.

While speaking at the training, the AMISOM Police Commissioner, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Augustine Magnus Kailie, disclosed that free and fair electoral outcomes largely depend on best electoral management practices, including safety and security.

The Chairman of the Federal Electoral Implementation Team, FEIT, Mohamed Hassan Mohamed, in his speech, emphasized on the importance of all members of FEIT and SEIT being adequately trained ahead of the elections, while stressing further that the two days training was not enough, considering the magnitude of the security challenges that the implementation teams will be faced with.

The Somali Police Force Spokesperson, Major General Sadik Adam Ali who represented the SPF Police Commissioner, said the training came at the right time and that it would pave the way for Election Security Taskforce to implement the security plans they had lined up in the run up to the elections. Some of the participants at the event also bear on their minds on the expectations ahead.

The modules for the electoral training are: the role of security forces, election security threat assessment, election security legal frameworks, causes of electoral conflict and violence, guidance on security arrangements for women, election security intelligence management, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in election security, among others.

As Somalia prepares for crucial national elections AMISOM is mandated to provide security during the process in a spirit of consensus and collaboration with the Somali security agencies to ensure the process is secured.