Mogadishu (SD) – The chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission, Mohamed Hassan Irro, has been fired following a meeting between members of the Electoral Commission in Mogadishu today.

The majority of the members of the Federal Electoral Commission held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday at the hotel inside Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.

Members of the Electoral Commission who spoke to local radio stations said that the Chairman of the Electoral Commission had fired by 18 members of the commission, accusing him of incompetence, corruption and meddling in the country’s politics.

However, a recent press release posted on the Federal Electoral Commission’s Facebook page denied the allegations, saying the commission chairman and his deputy were carrying out their duties as usual.

The statement from the commission said, “We are informing the Somali public that the electoral commission is being subjected to political interference, which is detrimental to the commission’s work, as it relates to elections and transparency.

The controversy comes at time when the PM was meeting in Mogadishu with members of the candidates’ union, discussing electoral process.