Somalia presidential Candidate Jibril Abdule warns of possible poll delay

A presidential candidate in Somalia on Tuesday warned of another postponement of the poll set for Nov. 30 citing what he termed as slow process of Lower House elections.

Jibril Ibrahim Abdulle who will be vying as an independent candidate said though the electoral body had not announced it was intending to postpone the poll, it was evidently clear that the Nov. 30 deadline would not be met.

“It seems that the presidential elections will not be conducted in time because so far there are no signs to indicate that the Lower House will be conducted in time for the elections,” said Abdulle.

The remarks come amid concerns in Somalia that the electoral body may not meet the Nov. 30 deadline for the presidential election.
So far 115 lawmakers and 43 Senators have been elected. The Lower House consists of 275 MPs while the Senate is made up of 54 Senators. The breakaway region of Somaliland is ye to elect an MP or senator.

The United Nations said Monday that it was disturbed by cases of voter bribery, intimidation of voters and candidates and use of state resources by some candidates.