Hargeisa April 16, 2023 (SD) – The outgoing President of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi, has announced that he has prepared the budget for the elections, while at the same time insisting that he will not extend his term.

Speaking with France 24 on Somaliland’s electoral issues, the President falsely claimed that his government has allocated $10 million for this year’s elections and that the budget has been approved, dismissing accusations of dictatorship.

The electoral commission announced that they only have a mandate in holding the postponed presidential election and there is no proof that the president agrees with them, let alone allocate the necessary funds for any election.

The president’s decision to register a new slate of weaker opposition associations rather than compete with the current parties in a Presidential election has led to the postponement of the parliamentary and presidential elections, which were planned for November 13, 2022, and have resulted in deadly protests.

The election issue remains unresolved, as the government wants the party-based election to be held first, while the opposition wants the presidential election to be held first.

Although the Somaliland House of Elders has extended the President’s term by two years, Bihi has recently announced that he will hold both elections in 2023.

President Bihi further derailed the country’s elections and ruined its peaceful reputation by launching deadly shelling of civilian areas in the city of Laascaanood in the Sool region, in what is believed to be yet another attempt to thwart the country’s democratic process.