Wednesday November 3, 2021
MOGADISHU (HOL) - The Dispute Resolution Committee has put on hold the declaration of Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled as a member of parliament after an outgoing MP contested his win.
The committee has directed the Federal Indirect Elections Team (FIET) to suspend the declaration until it issues a ruling in the next seven days, starting from November 2.
Outgoing MP Hussein Arab Isse had sought the committee's intervention, claiming he was illegally locked out of the race.
He also claimed that despite Guled not being from the clan for which the seat was reserved, he was handed the certificate by the State Indirect Elections Team (SIET) for Somaliland.
Guled became the first MP to be elected last week, getting 97 votes against her female contended Mushtaq Yusuf, who trailed with three votes only.
Meanwhile, senator-elect and federal information minister Osman Dube has called on the electoral committees at national and state levels to secure the credibility of the elections.
Dube said the Somaliland elections were contested by candidates and their 'bestmen'- a euphemism describing the situation where popular candidates were matched with a dummy opponent who would later drop out of the race or got one or two votes. The term has become popular since the senate elections.