Somalia’s semiautonomous state Puntland president Seid Deni has on Tuesday received in Garowe town delegates from international partners led by United Nations Special Representative to Somalia and discussed the direct election is going to happened in the region.
Delegates arrived today in Gawore including; Acting Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Head of the African Union Transition Mission to Somalia, Fiona Lortan; the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Somalia, Kate Foster; Sweden’s Ambassador to Somalia, Per Lindgarde; the US Ambassador to Somalia, Larry Andre; the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Head of Mission in Somalia, Abdi Ibrahim; Norway’s Chargé d’affaires in Somalia, Haakon Svane; and the European Union Delegation to Somalia’s Team Leader, Jens Hoegel.
In a statement from SGSR said, this morning we attended a roundtable meeting on direct elections, chaired by President Deni, with the participation of other stakeholders, including the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission – TPEC.
During the meeting, officials had exchanged ideas and to have a fruitful discussion on Puntland’s plans to organize direct local elections in the first half of 2023.
Several of Somalia’s international partners have been providing substantial capacity-building and financial support to this effort. The United Nations has also been providing technical support to the TPEC.
The diplomats have commended the government and people of Puntland for their continued commitment to deliver direct local elections, as enshrined in Puntland’s Constitution.
“We urge that the electoral process advance on the basis of broad consultation, as well as inclusion of women, youth, minorities, and persons with disabilities. We hope that Puntland’s efforts can also inspire the broader process of ‘one person, one vote’ elections across Somalia, at the federal and the member state levels’” added.
The elections in Puntland will take place in the context of a drought crisis that is badly hurting the Somali people.
