Council of Presidential Candidates in Somalia

The Council of Presidential Candidates was formed in November 2020 as a group of 14 presidential candidates met in Mogadishu for a six day conference on the upcomming 2021 Somali presidential election during which Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was nominated as chairman.[1]

The aspirants include:[2]

Election Agreement

In a letter addressed to the UN and copied to IGAD, AU, EU, OIC, Norway, UK and US, the candidates stated that they accept the election model which was agreed in September 2020. However, they listed a number of points concerning the implementation of the agreement which they were unhappy with and concluded that this has been mismanaged by the Federal Government.[3]

Harma'ad Police Unit

In the letter addressed to Turkey’s ambassador in Somalia, presidential candidates expressed concern that Turkey was planning to deliver 1,000 G3 assault rifle and 150,000 bullets to Harma’ad, a special unit in Somalia’s police, between December 16 and December 18, 2020.[4]

The Council of Presidential Candidates condemned the use of live bullets by the Harama’ad forces against Somali people. On 15 December, four protesters were wounded in Mogadishu during a peaceful protest when the Harama'ad forces opened fire on them, while two others were arrested.[5]

Somali National Army Troops

The CPC have accused President Farmajo Mohamed of sanctioning deployment of SNA troops to opposition headquarters in the runup to the 2021 election.[6]

References
  1. "Former President picked as chair of presidential candidates union in Somalia". Garowe. 26 November 2020.
  2. "Somalia's opposition candidates demand dissolution of electoral teams". Garowe. 27 November 2020.
  3. "Farmajo under more pressure from Somalia's opposition candidates". Garowe. 9 December 2020.
  4. "Somalia's opposition urges Turkey not to send arms to police unit". Reuters. 16 December 2020.
  5. "Turkey's promise to send arms to Somalia draws criticism". Arab News. 18 December 2020.
  6. "Farmajo accused of deploying SNA troops to opposition headquarters". Garowe. 17 December 2020.
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