MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s newly named electoral boards have been packed with “criminals” amid efforts led by the prime minister to hold free and fair elections in the strife-torn nation, a senior military official said on Monday.
Spokesman for government troops in Gedo region Adan Ahmed Hersi, speaking to media, accused members of an electoral board picked by Jubaland authorities for being “criminals” involved in atrocities committed in the region.
“I am warning the Somali public, whether at home or abroad, against so-called Jubaland electoral commission [whose list] has been sent from Kismayo,” the military official said.
Members of Jubaland electoral board had earlier run an election held in the town of Kismayo in August 2019 that led to the re-election of region’s president Ahmed Madobe and were also behind atrocities committed ahead of a vote marred by corruption, he added.
It comes days after Somalia’s prime minister Mohamed Hussein Roble announced a list of regional and federal electoral commissions set to manage the upcoming vote after he had signed an agreement with regional presidents on May 27 to end months-long impasse.
The government has not immediately commented on the claims by the military official, which comes amid tensions still remaining over how the electoral process will be conducted in the restive region.
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