Wednesday, May 18, 2016
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Somali parliament said it called off a planned debate on the country’s forthcoming elections Wednesday following a protest by the northern Puntlland state against a plan to allocate additional 7 lawmakers from the next parliament to Benadir region, lawmakers said.
The development comes as frustration grows over the parliament’s reluctance to approve the election bill for the horn of Africa nation which is gearing up for presidential election which is due to take place late this year.
However, a Somali lawmaker told HOL that Puntland leaders lashed out the proposed plan to allot the remaining legislators for Benadir region in which Mogadishu locates, saying that the plan would flout the country’s 4.5 power sharing formula.
Somali government officials started negotiations with Puntland officials to find solution to the new controversy which could lead to further delays to election plans.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government started new mediation efforts with the expectation of a potential breakthrough in ending the dispute.
No comment could be reached from Puntland officials on the development which raises serious questions about the troubled relations between Puntland and the central Somali government which is trying to push for greater collaborations with the regional administrations.
Despite maintaining its status of being part of Somalia Unlike its neighboring breakaway republic of Somaliland which declared a unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, Puntland continues to resist the central government's influence in its internal affairs, by maintaining its autonomous government and financial system.