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Somaliland dismisses Somali government’s election comments as baseless
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    Saturday October 5, 2024

     


    FILE - Somaliland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rhoda J. Elmi, speaks during a press conference in Hargeisa.

    Mogadishu (HOL) — The government of Somaliland has dismissed recent comments by the Somali government regarding its upcoming presidential elections as "baseless" and an attempt to undermine its sovereignty. This sharp response follows Fiqi's comments at the United Nations Security Council, where he expressed concern over the political situation in Somaliland and raised issues of Somali territorial integrity.

    Somaliland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rhoda J. Elmi, stressed that Somalia has no jurisdiction over Somaliland's internal matters, including the presidential elections scheduled for November 13. "These elections are solely the responsibility of Somaliland's government and its people," Elmi said in a statement released Friday.

    The Somaliland government particularly criticized Somalia's objections regarding Ethiopia's relationship with Somaliland. Somalia has expressed strong opposition to an agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia that grants Ethiopia access to Somaliland's ports and includes provisions for a military base. Fiqi described this agreement as illegal and undermining Somalia's sovereignty.

    In a press release by Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the breakaway government countered Somalia's remarks. "It is laughable for a regime that has failed to hold credible, transparent elections for decades to comment on Somaliland's well-established democratic process," the statement read. Officials also emphasized that Somaliland's November elections would be conducted in a free and fair manner.

    Although Somaliland remains unrecognized internationally, it has functioned as a de facto independent state since declaring its separation from Somalia in 1991, maintaining its own government, military, and legal system.


     

     





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