The Council of Presidential Candidates which brings together Somalia’s main opposition parties warned on Thursday of “Colossal Collapse” of state as election manipulation allegations mount.
Opposition figures convened a meeting in Mogadishu today, days after parliamentary polls were resumed and allegations that the gov’t of President Mohamed Abdilahi Farmajo and allied administration were rigging the votes in favor of their allies overshadowed the fragile election process.
Dahir Mohamud Gele, a spokesman for the Council of Presidential Candidates said in a press conference: ” We want to tell the Somali public and the rest of the world that we firmly believe the ongoing process could lead to a colossal collapse of state in Somalia and we do not want to happen while we are alive and have the potential to do something.
It comes hours after the country’s acting Intelligence Chief Yasin Farey was elected to parliament, in a race that his opponents had refused to participate, alleging that soldiers had been picked as delegates for vote.
Voting irregularities have been reported in a number of other venues over the past days.
Some candidates vying for parliamentary seats, including the former speaker of parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari, have been refused to register by pro-gov’t regional states.
