Puntland election programme approved

The electoral commission of the general conference of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, presented its election programme on Sunday, a delegate to the conference told IRIN. "The commission presented the programme to the delegates, who unanimously adopted it today," Ali Egal, said on Monday. Twelve out of 15 presidential candidates had been endorsed by the delegates. One candidate, Muhammad Ali Shire, had been disqualified, because it was found that he was a member of Transitional National Assembly of Somalia. The only female candidate, Batran Yusuf Warabe, was also disqualified, reportedly for presenting her papers too late, Egal told IRIN. Egal said approved candidates would each be allotted 20 minutes to present their election manifestos. "Tuesday and Wednesday will probably be taken up by the candidates giving their speeches." The approved candidates would then submit to election by the delegates, and "by Thursday, or at the latest next Sunday, a president and a vice-president will be in place". Egal said he was hopeful that "the confusion of the last few months will be over soon". There has been confusion over the Puntland leadership, with Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad and the former chief justice, Yusuf Haji Nur, both claiming to be president. The controversy started after Abdullahi Yusuf, whose term was then to have expired on 30 June, claimed that his mandate had been extended by parliament for three years. Yusuf Haji issued a decree asserting that, under the Puntland charter, he, Yusuf Haji, would be the legitimate authority until a new administration was elected. Puntland senior traditional elders meeting in Garowe, the regional capital, in July rejected the Abdullahi Yusuf extension, and named Yusuf Haji as "acting President" until new elections were held. The general conference of the representatives of the constituent regions of Puntland was convened on 26 August to elect a new administration.