Mogadishu (SD) – The Speaker of the Upper House Abdi Hashi called a recent statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia Mahdi Mohamed Guled an insult, insisting on his decision to contest the PM appointed election committees.

“This is a mistake, and it is his fault,” Abdi Hashi told VOA’s Somali Service, also accusing intelligence chief Fahad Yassin of seeking to select members of the election committee.

The speakers accusations came after the deputy PM has defended the federal governments appointment of the current election committees.

The contention between the central government and the speaker of the upper house is who is to select the electoral commission that represents the northern regions of the country.

It is feared that the election schedule could be delayed due to concerns over government-appointed northern election commissions that include suspected members of the security services, Villa Somalia staff and some government supporters.

The country’s opposition also rejected the appointed commissions, claiming that this is contrary to the election agreement reached between the central government and the regional administrations.

Opposition groups have warned that the country could be plunged into political turmoil if the election agreement is not implemented as agreed upon.