Somalia Opposition candidates express pessimism over delayed election process

The opposition presidential candidates in Somalia have expressed dissatisfaction over the sloggy way the election process is being conducted as a new deadline of Februry 25th dangles.

Dahir Mohamud Gelle, an opposition presidential candidate who spoke to local media, said the most important thing a country can do is hold an election that is fair, transparent and that people trust.

Gelle said it had been three years since they started their election campaign, but instead the presidential candidates have been busy fighting for the elections to be held. He added that riots that erupted twice in the capital Mogadishu due to the delayed polls occurred precisely because the government did not want to hold elections.

Somalia has witnessed two election-related political standoffs, one of which took place after current President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s constitutional mandate expired on Feb. 8 last year and the opposition declared that they didn’t recognize him as president. The other standoff, which appears to be still going on, emerged after Mohamed suspended the powers of Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble over alleged corruption and the embezzlement of public land, allegations that Roble denied.

Following the political tiff between Mohamed and Roble, nearly all of the opposition positioned themselves behind the prime minister, who was also receiving some international support.

The country has already completed the election of the 54-member Senate chamber and is currently struggling to meet the latest election deadline with only a few days to go.