Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi of the Senate (Upper House) has appointed a committee of eight members to oversee the election of Somaliland Members of Parliament (MPs).
The move is likely to lead to a showdown with the Federal Government of Somalia.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s administration already appointed a committee to oversee the election of MPs for the northern region.
Speaker Hashi’s move is the culmination of long-standing differences with Farmaajo.
Recently, he was on record slating the decision by FGS to appoint an electoral committee full of commissioners loyal to Farmaajo.
Hashi stated that Farmaajo is attempting to hijack the parliamentary and presidential polls scheduled for December 2020 and February 2021 respectively.