Saturday October 2, 2021
Hargeisa (HOL) - The Somaliland Vice President Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail (Saylici) said his government is aware of the masked delegates who participated in Somalia's Upper house elections earlier this week, adding that his administration is prepared to take action.
Saylici said candidates who delegates elected to the Somali government did not represent Somaliland and would no longer be accepted by the Somaliland government.
"I say to the people of Somalia, we are not worried about what happens behind the few kilometres of foreign protection, and we do not accept it. We do not believe that 20 rebels from this nation represent us, and they do not speak for us. Saylici said.
Saylici added that the masked delegates would be apprehended upon return to Somaliland.
"Those who were hiding their eyes are those who left Somaliland and want to return tomorrow. They are national criminals. Let's not see Somalilanders screaming when they are arrested tomorrow. "
Saylici added that the Somaliland government was disappointed that the United Nations was present at the election.
"I am, however, deeply saddened the United Nations is witnessing and believing that 20 or 30 traitors are accepted as our representatives.
UN Special Rep to Somalia, James Swan, led a delegation that included the AU to witness the Upper House selection.
Hussein Aden Egeh (Dayr), the spokesman for the Covid-19 Infection Control Committee in Somaliland, says lawmakers of Somaliland origin elected in Mogadishu do not represent Somaliland.
Dayr described the elected members of parliament in Mogadishu as self-serving and said the masked delegates representing no one but themselves.
Dayr said that Somaliland has its own elected and representative councils.
"Somaliland is an independent country, and it has been self-governing for 30 years. The man (delegate) who says I represent Somaliland today is a dreamer. Nobody was sent to Mogadishu on our behalf. Its electorate represents Somaliland."
"The delegates also use the derogatory term 'northern regions.' They represent themselves, they are mercenaries, they do not represent Somaliland at all," Dayr added.
The spokesperson for the Somali Electoral Commission, Ambassador Safina, suggested that the delegates were wearing extra facemasks and headscarves because of COVID-19 precautions.
When Somalia's MMTV asked why the delegates were wearing headscarves to obscure their face, Ambassador Safina responded that the representatives were worried about catching Covid-19 and misunderstood how to wear a facemask properly.
The Republic of Somaliland has functioned as an unrecognized sovereign state since it declared independence in 1991. It is still allocated 11 seats in Somalia's Federal Upper House and 46 seats in the Lower House as Somaliland is still recognized as a Federal Member State by Somalia's government in Mogadishu.