Opposition Warns International Partners against Funding Somalia’s Partial Elections

Opposition parties in Somalia have warned the international partners against funding partial elections in the country.

On January 12, the Council of Presidential Candidates’ Union wrote a letter to the international community on their displeasure with the government’s preparations for the upcoming polls.

The Council is a union of 14 presidential candidates from opposition parties in Somalia.

It comprises politicians who are prepared to take part in the country’s presidential elections, which are scheduled for February 2021.

The politicians have requested the international partners not to fund the elections.

In their letter, they say that partial elections are likely to cause more divisions and instability in the East African nation.

The letter from the Council of Presidential Candidates’ Union is a response to Saturday’s announcement that elections would only take place in Galmudug, HirShabelle, and Southwest.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble announced that elections would take place in those three Federal Member States (FMS) and Benadir Region.

The omission of Puntland and Jubbaland from the list of regional states where elections were to take place has elicited sharp reactions from the opposition.