Invalid Oath for new SLNEC – Guleid Ahmed

Hargeisa (Somaliland.com) – The new Somaliland Electoral commissioners sworn in yesterday by Honorable Adan Haji Ali, Somaliland Chief justice of the High Court are claimed to be “constitutionally invalid”.

This is according to Lawyer Guled Dafac who said their swearing-in was collective unlike the citations of Election act.

The six-member electoral commission sworn in Yesterday by the chief justice of the Republic of Somaliland Honorable Adan Haji Ali is invalid as per the constitution and the election act.

The members were sworn in collectively unlike the constitution’s citation which says they should be sworn in Individually.

The procedure followed was not the one stipulated by the constitution this is according to Lawyer Guleed Dafaac, a lawyer at Xaqddon law firm.

The lawyer has advised the chief justice of Somaliland to do the oath again and make to validate the electoral commission.

Lawyer Guled Dafac who is also the former chairman of Somaliland Human Rights Center says the same happened in the US during the swearing-in of President Barack Obama in 2009, when he was sworn in again a date after the initial swearing-in because he missed following the correct words in the constitution, thus following the constitutional format important.

Whether the advice of the attorney will be taken by the chief justice or not it is clear that the new Somaliland Electoral commissioners sworn in yesterday are invalid as per the constitution.

Yunis Dekow