Somaliland opposition parties held demonstrations on Thursday against the electoral delay. Several opposition figures and MPs including Barkhad Jama Batun were arrested and others injured by the police during the protests.
The pro opposition protestors marched in the streets of Hargeisa, led by Waddani party presidential candidate Abdirahman Irro, demanding that elections be held on 13th November. According to reports, Police officers were deployed on the main roads in an attempt to prevent the protest while using tear gas and live bullets.
The Presidential candidate of Waddani party Abdirahman Irro announced the official nationwide protests will kick start on Saturday. He said the Thursday protest was aimed at educating their supporters how to demonstrate peacefully but was disrupted by the police after they opened fire.
The chairman of Waddani party Hirsi Ali Hajji Hassan said lawmakers including Barkhad Jama Batun sustained minor injuries during the protests. The opposition figures accused the government for violating the immunity of the lawmakers.
Other videos widely circulated on social media show a police officer kicking the chest of a female protester in the street, a Scene which many people described as police brutality.
