Garowe August 15, 2023 (SD) – President of Puntland State of Somalia, Said Abdullahi Deni, has appointed today, three members to the Puntland Electoral Commission (PEC).

The President has named three individuals to the commission, including Mahamoud Soofe Hasan from the SSC regions who had previously been a member of the PEC during the terms of 2011 – 2019, as well as Mohamed Abshir Garaad from the same SSC regions. The third appointment is Abdullahi Said Ismail, who previously served as the chairman of Galdogob district in Mudug region.

President Deni previously appointed member of the KAAH political association, Abdullahi Mohamed Barre as a representative of KAAH, which is among the groups contributing members to the PEC. This way, President Deni appointed a total of four members.

Additionally, Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril, has named three members to the PEC. One of them is a member of the parliamentary house and one of them is a former lawmaker, which signifies an amendment to the rules of the electoral committee.

President Deni and the Speaker of the Parliament have both explicitly stated that the number of women in the appointments will not be changed, although they altered other parts of the appointments in accordance with the Puntland Constitution for the second term of President Deni.

Seven members were appointed by both President Deni and the Speaker of the Parliament, a majority of whom were women.

The duration of the Puntland assembly has nearly elapsed, and the members of the TPEC committee, consisting of intellect and knowledge regarding elections for the past four years, have concluded their work.

Only the Labor Party announced their members’ appointments, while other Political Parties like Ifiye, Mustaqbal, Sincad, Runcad, Horseed, and Mideeye did not nominate anyone.

The largest opposition political party, Mideeye, is opposing the electoral process and is strongly criticizing President Deni’s approach to election affairs.