Hiiraan Online
Sunday October 8, 2017
Mogadishu (HOL) - Two pivotal bodies that are responsible for the review and implementation of Somalia’s constitution have boycotted a planned conference scheduled from the 8th through the 10th of October in Mogadishu, citing an overreaching Ministry of Constitutional Affairs of derailing the talks.
Somalia’s Federal Member States of Puntland, Jubbaland, Galmudug and Southwest have also come out and embargoed the convention for similar reasons.
In a statement released to the press, the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) said that proper procedures have not been followed by the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs.
Somalia’s Minister of Information, Eng. Abdirahman Omar Osman announced that the national constitutional conference has been postponed due to technical reasons, without citing any specific details.
A senior government official who spoke to HOL on the condition of anonymity said that extensive planning went into organizing the conference and the federal government has spent close to $2 million dollars in travel and accommodation for the hundreds of delegates it is hosting.
The Oversight Committee Chairman Abdi Qeybdid has called on the international partners and donors to follow his lead in boycotting the conference and asked them to stop financing the 3-day convention.
Prime Minister Kheyre held an emergency meeting with the Oversight Committee on Sunday in response to the boycott. OC Chairman Abdi Qeybdid said that the two have reached a tentative agreement but did not elaborate on the status of the convention or whether they will continue to boycott it.
Somali Regional leaders convened in Kismayo on Sunday to discuss recent developments in Mogadishu. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the purpose of the meeting could be to form a Federal Member States Council.