BAIDOA( Halbeeg News)- UN has offered to conduct capacity building workshop for the members of South West electoral committee facilitating the upcoming presidential poll in the regional state so as to strengthen their duties and responsibilities.
UNSOM has also agreed to send election observers ahead of the poll following a call by South West authorities to avoid voting irregularities.
These developments follow the visit and the subsequent meeting of deputy Special Representative for United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Rai Zenenga with South West acting president who is also the speaker of the regional assembly, Abdikadir Sharif Shekhuna and other South West officials in Baidoa on Tuesday.
Mr. Zenenga underlined the commitment of UN to see credible and fair elections in South West regional state.
“We have a stake in the election in the sense that we want to see a credible one, (but) we don’t support any particular candidate,” the UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Raisedon Zenenga added “We are there to support the process and make it more transparent and more credible so that the result is not contentious and is accepted widely,”
The Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Raisedon Zenenga also held meeting with South West presidential candidates and traditional elders in Baidoa. Their meeting focused on holding peaceful, fair and credible elections in South West state.
He also held separate meeting with representatives of South West traditional elders in Baidoa on Tuesday.
The presidential aspirants have recently called for the delay of the election which is scheduled to take place on 17th November 2018.
Also the traditional elders announced that they postponed the election adding that they reached the decision after realizing Somali government’s interference on electoral process.
15 individuals of the 27 member electoral committee of the regional state resigned citing widespread interference of electoral process by the federal government- the positions they vacated is yet to be filled a move that has casted doubt on many that the election will not be held as scheduled.
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