Garowe (Isbahaysi) – Puntland, in its efforts to complete the electoral process of one man one vote, has taken significant steps towards completing the elections in the remaining three districts of the region.
The Chairman of the Puntland Electoral Commission (PEC), Ahmed Mohamed Omar, has announced the schedule for the local elections in Garowe, Dangorayo, and Godob-jiiraan.
According to the schedule, the preparation and assessment of the elections will begin in June 2024. These preparations include voter registration, organizing meetings of election stakeholders, setting up and securing the Commission’s offices, distributing electoral materials to the three district offices, reviewing and finalizing the list of candidates, conducting election campaigns, and the election day, scheduled for July 23, 2024.
Additionally, the Puntland Electoral Commission urged all civil society organizations and political parties to cooperate in voter education and facilitating the electoral process. Furthermore, Puntland’s Ministry of Interior, Federalism, and Democratization, led by Minister Abdi Farah Juhaa, has provided a report on the ministry’s activities and achievements to the Puntland House of Representative Committee on Interior, Federalism, and Democratization. Minister Juhaa highlighted the successes and significant achievements of the ministry during the past two terms emphasizing the importance of the upcoming local elections.
The completion of the elections in three districts and the presidential elections held on January 8, which the Puntland government planned to adopt the direct election system, faced strong opposition from the government’s detractors, who rejected the government’s efforts to hold democratic elections in Puntland. This opposition has now been overcome with the completion of the elections in the three districts.
Puntland has become the first regional state to fully implement the voter and electoral system after elections were held in more than 33 districts with over 860 representatives elected. This underscores the significance of the upcoming presidential elections if held through direct voting by the public.
Therefore, if Puntland succeeds in completing the voter elections in the three districts, thus fully implementing the democratization process in Puntland, it can undoubtedly be said that THE MOTHER OF FEDERALISM HAS CROWNED ITSELF AS THE MOTHER OF DEMOCRACY IN SOMALIA.
