Saturday February 26, 2022
Beledweyne (HOL) - The election of six seats in the Lower House of Somalia’s Federal Parliament which was scheduled to take place in Beledweyne on Saturday, has been delayed.
The Hirshabelle administration's election commission said in a statement last night that today's election was delayed due to technical issues.
The seats that were delayed on Saturday are HOP 006, HOP 022, HOP 003, HOP 032, HOP 252, and HOP 068.
"Hirshabelle State Electoral Implementation Team (SEIT) would like to inform all Somalis and candidates that the election is scheduled to take place today has been postponed due to technical issues," the electoral commission said without elaborating.
The commission added that the election for the six seats would be held on Sunday.
According to sources close to HOL, the election was called off due to a dispute between Hirshabelle officials and the governor of the Hiiraan region.
Heavily armed forces under the command of Hiran Governor Ali Jeyte Osman have closed one of the election halls in Beledweyne, and the speaker is reportedly angry that he has no role in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Lamagalaay camp, the seat of the election venue in Beledweyne, is hosting a large number of troops loyal to various officials, and many said there was a sense of insecurity in the camp which they fear could lead to clashes.