MOGADISHU (SD) – Section of Somaliland election team has today held a controversial election to select their leadership ahead of senatorial elections.

In a process boycotted by four members of the Somaliland interim elections board from the Abdi Hashi faction, seven members of the team elected Khadar Harir Hussein as the chairperson of the electoral team. The election took place at Afisyoni in Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Hussein got all the seven votes returning to the position he had been elected into by the same team.

He previously headed the faction of the team appointed by Guled.

Today’s election was participated in by four members previously appointed by Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled and three from the office of prime minister.

Najiib Hussain Samale was elected to deputise Hussein.

Present in the meeting today was Mogadishu mayor Omar Filish and Interior Mukhtar Afah.

The members appointed by the speaker of the Upper House Abdi Hashi including Suleiman Aidid Osman, Abdishakur Abib Hayir, Jama Omar Ali and Mohamed Ali Abdullahi failed to turn up.

According to sources privy to the matter, prior to the vote, efforts to convince the Hashi side to attend the meeting at Afisyoni failed.

On Friday, the faction of Abdi Hashi accused Prime minister Mohamed Hussein Roble of bias, saying he was siding with the faction led by his deputy.

Last Thursday, PM Roble nullified the results of the previous commission election and ordered a new one to be held.

Meanwhile, PM Roble has hailed today’s election of the team’s leadership, calling the committee to accelerate the process to hold the senatorial election.

“PM @MohamedHRoble congratulates to the elected board members of the Somaliland Electoral Commission SIET on Saturday and urged them to accelerate the election process in collaboration with the FEIT. PM Roble reiterated that he would continue to reconcile Somaliland politicians,” the office of the PM said in a twitter post.