Hargeisa (SD) – The three national parties Kulmiye, UCID and Wadani have reportedly concluded the screening of candidates for the upcoming local and parliamentary elections.

The ruling party, Kulmiye, has reportedly completed the process of screening the party’s candidates for the May 31, 2021 elections. It is said that lots candidates have been eliminated, for various reasons, sources say that some are excluded due to lack of support in their communities, while others had their respective clans disagreed with their candidacy.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Ahmed Abdi Dheere, the chairman of Kulmiye party, instructed all Kulmiye party candidates in the regions and districts of the country to immediately pay the nomination fees to the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in the country, and send prove of payment to the party headquarters.

The opposition Wadani party has also reportedly finalized the selection of their candidates for the upcoming elections. It is alleged that some candidates were told by the party that they did not have a seat in the House of Representatives, but instead were offered seats in the House of Representatives, which they reportedly rejected.

The WADDANI party has sent a message to the candidates it has selected to run in the by-elections informing them to pay the government’s tax deposit to the Ministry of Finance, while other hopeful candidates were not informed to do so.

The UCID opposition party has also reported its committee tasked with selecting candidates has officially concluded its work. According to sources in the party’s headquarters, the party has rejected various candidates due to lack of support in their subsequent clans.

The three parties will officially submit their lists of candidates to the Somaliland National Electoral Commission next Wednesday, officially concluding the candidate selection process.

Nonetheless, Somaliland’s three national parties have selected their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary and local elections through a clan-based processes.