Puntland elders meet to resolve extension controversy

Senior traditional elders of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, are meeting in Garowe, the regional capital, to discuss the controversy surrounding the extension of the mandate of the Puntland administration, a local journalist told IRIN. The administration, led by Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf, whose mandate was to have expired on 30 June, had its mandate extended by three years on 27 June by the Puntland House of Representatives, Isma’il Warsame, chief of cabinet of the Puntland president, told IRIN that day. The extension was, however, challenged by opposition figures and aspiring presidential candidates, who accused the administration of manipulating the vote. Jama Ali Jama, a prominent presidential candidate, told IRIN that the extension decision was a “farce” and had been made by “illegitimate individuals”. Puntland Chief Justice Yusuf Haji Nur on 1 July issued a decree claiming to be “the legitimate authority in Puntland as of 1 July”, and saying he would be acting president. He told IRIN on 4 July that he would call a general congress of representatives of all of Puntland regions within 30 days to elect a new administration. Under the Puntland charter, the chief justice assumed the presidency within that 30-day period until a new administration was in place, he said. The elders’ conference, which opened on Wednesday, would discuss, among other things, the issue of the extension, and decide whether to support it or call for fresh elections, Muhammad Deq, editor of the Bosaso-based newspaper ‘Sahan’, told IRIN. They had already met Yusuf Haji Nur, who told them he would abide by their decision, he said. The elders met Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf on Thursday, and reportedly asked him for “an undertaking that he will abide by whatever decisions they reach” on the extension issue, local sources told IRIN. The extension controversy had created much confusion, and “people are looking to the elders’ conference to resolve it once and for all”, Muhammad Deq said. The elders’ meeting was not subject to any time limit, but was expected to last at least a week, given the sensitive nature of the discussions, by which time they were expected to reach a decision, local sources told IRIN.