This archive report was first published on 18 August 2019.
Published on August 18, 2019, the Jubbaland Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (JIEBC) has rejected international pleas to extend the candidate registration period beyond Monday.
The agency, led by Dr. Hamza Barre, Chairperson, stated that a three-day window was sufficient for anyone to enter the race, despite calls from the UN, African Union, and other countries for more time.
Dr. Barre wrote to the UN representative in Somalia, James Swan, stating, "There are no additional steps required to improve the process as all necessary steps were taken...the Commission believes all constitutional and legal requirements were taken on the conduct of electoral process in line with constitution and electoral laws."
"We decided the process of electing president to continue as planned."
The decision means the federal state polls will proceed on Thursday, August 22, three days after the registration window shuts on Monday.
However, the journey to the polls has been marred by confusion, with a group of 12 aspirants under the banner of the Union of Presidential Candidates for Change creating their own parallel electoral commission, arguing JIEBC was biased towards incumbent Sheikh Ahmed Islam Madobe.
Local MPs, sworn in on Thursday, elected their speaker, who will conduct the elections in which legislators vote for the state President.
Formally, JIEBC had listed six other candidates to compete with Madobe, but the parallel group also swore in their 'MPs' and elected a speaker, ready for polls on August 21.
