Somaliland opposition parties have announced that the talks between parties and government, which were aimed at resolving the dispute in the elections, have collapsed.
At a press conference in Hargeisa on Tuesday, UCID chairman Faisal Ali Warabe and Waddani chairman Hirsi Ali Haji Hassan said President Musse Bihi Abdi had withdrawn entirely from the ongoing talks and ignored the elders who were mediating between the opposition and government.
“We asked the elders how things were going and what kind of outcomes they had for us; unfortunately, they had no results from the President. He withdrew the trust he had previously given to the mediators”, according to Hirsi.
Hirsi Ali Haji continued, saying that the President’s decision demonstrates that he has lost all confidence in anyone as an impartial mediator since dissolving the mediation committee.
UCID chairman Faisal Ali Warabe said President Bihi had withdrawn his confidence in the House of Representatives chairman, Abdirisaaq Khalif Ahmed and Senate chairman, Saleeban Mohamud Adan after he chose the men to mediate the two sides.
The government of Somaliland and the two chairmen mediating the two sides have not yet responded to the talks that the opposition group said were collapsed.
Political tension has been building in Somaliland with the opposition pushing for the presidential elections to be held in November. The government and President Muse Bihi have refused to commit to holding the elections.
As a result, the opposition called for nationwide protests to pile pressure on the government. Several opposition activists and journalists were arrested in the street protests early June.
Traditional and religious leaders have been trying to mediate between the two sides.
The international community has also called for calm and asked the government and the opposition to find a solution to the impasse.
The talks had entered the fourth round on Sunday.
