Somaliland President Muse Bihi appears to be yielding pressure by both the country’s opposition and the international community after pledging to commit to organize presidential elections line with the roadmap set by the National Electoral Commission.
A statement released by Somaliland international partners revealed that after communication with Bihi, he had given his word to have the elections to be held.
The NEC recently announced it will be ready to hold the elections within the next nine months.
“Partners notes the President’s commitment to organise both (presidential and political associations) elections in line with technical timelines established by the NEC,” the statement said.
President Bihi, according to the statement, also conveyed told the partners that he was also committed to engage opposition political parties in dialogue.
Envoys and ambassadors from Belgium, Canada, the European Delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, said in their statement that they had called the president and raised unsettled issues pertinent to upcoming elections.
“Partners raised concerns over the lack of dialogue between key political stakeholders, stressing the need to secure political consensus on the electoral roadmap,” the statement indicated.
They stressed the need to secure political consensus on the electoral roadmap and importance of freedom of expression and non violent policing.
The Somaliland elections had been scheduled to be held on November 13. But this has since been overtaken by events due to divisions with the NEC which saw new officials being appointed.
The new NEC then announced they would not be ready to hold the elections by the set date saying they can only have the polls held in August 2023.
The house of elders then went ahead to unilaterally extend the term of President by two years to the chagrin of opposition parties who have now vowed not to recognize the president and his government after the November 13 date unless he accepts to sit with them on a rounds table and set a roadmap for the elections.
