Hargeisa – SL ( Cabays Media) –  The upper house of Somaliland’s Guurti has passed a controversial motion granting president Siilaanyo and his government for two more years of extension term  on Monday.

In an unannounced session aimed at postponing the national elections due in June this year and quashing the legality of the elections date arranged by the National Electoral Commission, the Guurti members overwhelmingly repudiated the proposals by both the opposition party leaders and the Electoral Commission.

More than seventy out of the eighty two Guurti members voted on long listed justifications for postponing the elections Somaliland could hold end of this year and seventy five Guurtis in favoured for granting the Kulmiye government for another two years of staying in power despite of the constitution barring any such step taken without any genuine reasons such as national crisis that could stop elections to take place.

The secretary general of the House of Guurti, Abdillahi Hassan has read out more than twenty points of explanations based on the decision the house reached in extending the current government’s term.

Among the points highlighted in the deliberations included the security level in Somaliland’s eastern regions which the Guurti finds as insecure and not accessible for the national electoral commission to hold elections there.

The lack of legislation that can govern the elections and the distribution of parliamentary seats among the regions, and constituency boundaries are among the points warranted the Guurti to reach such audacious decision to grant more extension term for the Kulmiye government.

The anticipated move by the Guurti was described as derailing Somaliland’s democratisation process and opposition parties have rejected it and called the move as illegal and unacceptable. The international community helping Somaliland in funding its elections has warned against such move in series of letters they sent to the government and the Guurti.

It is not clear how they will respond to the extension term when a high level delegation from the International Community arrives in Hargeisa on Tuesday.

Waddani party responded the Guurti move with protests and the government also sent police force to shut down its headquarters and also arrested its members in Hargeisa, Berbera and Burao.

UCID party leader, Faysal Ali Warabe has also spoke against the Guurti decision and branded the Guurti house as an illegal institution that has no mandate and their move has been orchestrating by money motivated individuals.

The two year extension term for a government failed to fulfil its obligation as executive body has caused uproar across the country and it is feared that the Guurti motion could result clashes with oppositions and the government led by President Siilaanyo who has lost public connection he used enjoy during his time as opposition leader before he was elected in office in 2010 and since 2012 rarely speaks about any burning issue in public or speak to the media. Something cause the speculations about his health condition and whether he is fully in charge the country’s affairs.

However, the move by Guurti in granting more time in office at a time Somaliland’s democratisation process is getting attention from the West, specially Britain and the EU will definitely damage the reputation of this yet fully to fledge republic that its people are against all odds in the region.

The remaining in office more than its five year term, president Siilaanyo is on the footsteps of its predecessor whom he used to criticise for not upholding Somaliland’s  constitution and he with oppositions not willing to yield for an illegal extension term, president Siilaanyo is asking for trouble he can avoid.

The Guurti members accused of bribery

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