This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
Kenya has rejected the United Nations' position on Somalia's Jubbaland presidential election, highlighting its discomfort with Ethiopia's emerging role in Somalia's politics.
On August 16, the Jubbaland Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (JIEBC) agreed to extend registration time by 72 hours, nearly three weeks after it shut the window.
The commission said the polls, which had been scheduled for August 19, would be held on August 22.
However, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) boss James Swan insisted that the time given was too little.
Mr Swan said he was making the demands on behalf of the UN, regional bloc IGAD, Italy, Kenya, Denmark, the US, the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, the European Union, and France.
Kenya has now protested to the UN Under-Secretary of Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, accusing Mr Swan of selectively ignoring Kenya.
As a member of the international community and a key stakeholder in Somalia's stabilisation process, including as Amisom troop-contributing country and neighbour to Jubbaland, the government of Kenya, which was not consulted at all, does not accept the position by Ambassador Swan as the position of the international community.
Kenya and Ethiopia have contributed troops to Amisom, both of whom operate in Jubbaland in Sector II and Sector VI.
The complaint comes as reports emerge that Ethiopia is siding with Mogadishu to front some candidates in Jubbaland.
Officially, Somalia's federal government says it only wants a legitimate process.
Kenya says delays on the election date and making demands on the JIEBC could create a leadership vacuum and an opportunity for Al-Shabaab to re-emerge.
