Somali electoral commission announces Galmudug election winners after supreme court approval

Dhusamareb (HOL) — Somali electoral commission formally announced the winners of Galmudug State’s parliamentary election Tuesday after the Supreme Court approved results from a Sept. 30 rerun elections.

The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC), published the names of the successful candidates for Galmudug’s 89-member House of Representatives following the court’s final ruling.

It said the announcement was made under provisions of Somalia’s National Electoral Law and the legislation establishing the electoral commission.

The Supreme Court approved the results after determining that no legal challenge against the Sept. 30 rerun had been filed within the period established under Article 73 of the National Electoral Law.

The court’s decision concludes the judicial certification process following the commission’s provisional declaration of the results.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP) won most of the seats in the Galmudug legislature, giving it a commanding majority in the new assembly.

The Sept. 30 voting included elections for both Galmudug’s House of Representatives and local councils.

The rerun followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling on Aug. 24 that annulled Galmudug’s July 30 parliamentary and local council elections.

The court found that the earlier vote had not been administered in accordance with constitutional and electoral requirements for free, fair and impartial elections and said the irregularities were substantial enough to affect the integrity and outcome of the process.

The case had been brought by the Towfiiq political organization, which challenged the July election results.

Towfiiq did not participate in the Sept. 30 rerun after the electoral commission excluded it from the list of 12 organizations cleared to contest the new vote. The party had raised concerns about the commission’s preparations and the conditions under which the rerun would be conducted.

No challenge to the rerun results was subsequently filed before the Supreme Court within the legally prescribed period, according to Tuesday’s ruling.