MOGADISHU (Somaliguardia) – In the coastal town of Bosaso, 16 new MPs were elected on Saturday in the highest number of votes for a whole constituency concluded in a single day during Somalia 2022 elections, days after authorities brought an end to a local standoff.
Among the newly elected MPs is former chief of Somali police Bashir Abdi Mohamed, popularly known as Ameriko, who occupied Hop273 parliamentary seat.
Somalia’s Minister of Planning Jamal Mohamed Hassan had been blocked from seeking re-election due to his loyalty to the incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. One of the votes held in Bosaso handed an easy victory to an ally of Puntland regional leader Saeed Deni, who is said to be one of the aspirants of Somalia’s upcoming presidential vote.
All 16 MPs are said to be allies of Puntland President and almost all of the seats were filled without contest.
Last week, local media reported that troops aligned with the Somali Minister of Planning closed a key highway leading to the coastal town of Bosaso, weeks after he had raised fear over attempts to bar him from the race to parliamentary polls.
On Thursday, Deni reinstated a mutinous commander, whose forces had battled Puntland troops for control of the commercial port city in December in a deadly combat that led to the death of dozens of civilians and displaced thousands of residents. Mohamud Osman Diyano has been appointed to head Puntland Security Commando Forces, one of two divisions of a counter-terrorism force that was initially under his command.
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