International partners hail successful Somali elections

By Magdalene Mukami

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Somalia's international partners congratulated the country on Friday for holding successful elections in Puntland state.

“With the peaceful completion of polling and the announcement of preliminary results from the ‘one person, one vote’ electoral process in three districts of Puntland, international partners congratulate the people of Puntland for leading the way toward instituting a system of universal suffrage elections across Somalia,” a statement said from the group.

The international partners said that they welcome the enthusiasm shown by the population of the districts of Qardho, Eyl and Ufeyn, as shown by the high number of voters who turned out.

They said that the international community looks forward to the completion of additional voter registration and the roll-out of statewide government elections in Puntland in 2022.

Putland successfully concluded elections in three districts -- Qardho, Eyl and Ufeyn on Oct. 26.

Out of 87 council seats, 23 women emerged victorious.

In Qardho, 16,722 votes were cast, 15,343 were valid and 1,379 invalid. Out of 33 seats, 24 were won by males and nine were by females.

In Eyl, 6,766 votes were cast -- 5,406 votes were valid and 1,360 invalid. A total of 21 seats were won by males and six won by females.

The Ufeyn district saw 5,366 votes cast, with 4,739 valid votes and 627 ballots were deemed invalid. Nineteen were won by males and eight won by females.

The partners commended all stakeholders for their role in the process, noting, in particular, the effective collaboration between the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission, the political associations and civil society organizations.

The international partners include the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Denmark, Egypt, European Union (EU), Finland, Germany, Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), Kenya, League of Arab States, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, UK, US and the UN