Hiiraan Online
Monday January 16, 2017
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Federal Electoral Commission for Somalia (GFHDD) met with the newly re-elected Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Sheikh Osman Mohamud as well as his deputy speakers, Abdiweli Ibrahim Sheikh and Mahad Abdalla Awad at Peace 1 Hotel in Mogadishu today.
The parliamentary speakers and the electoral commission met to confirm the number of MPs as well as to address the lingering issue regarding the five contested seats that must be sent back for re-election. The seats were said to have won by nefarious means including vote rigging and voter intimidation.
The electoral commission also discussed what would happen in the event of a vacant seat in the parliament. A proposed change would see an end to hereditary succession where a sitting MP would be replaced by a sibling or offspring.
Mahad Abdalla Awad
In the event of resignation or death, the MPs seat would go back for re-election by the same 51 delegates that elected the original MP. To protect the gains made by women this electoral process, a vacant seat previously belonging to a woman can only be contested by another woman.