Mogadishu, 24 November 2016 - TheFIEITand the IEDRM wish to highlight the progress that has been achieved to date in the 2016 Electoral Process. Voting for Seats in the Upper House is almost complete, and about 40per centof the Seats in the House of the People have already been conducted. The overall process so far has been conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner except for a few isolated incidents in Jowhar,Beidoa, Cadaado and Kismaayo.

TheFIEITand the IEDRM are concerned by allegations of malpractices in
a number of House of the People Elections recently held in various regions.
Allegations include the harassment and intimidation of some members of
the electoral management bodies and ,candidates, the manipulation of
delegate and candidate lists, misuse of government resources (including
use of members of security forces) to favor some parliamentary candidate

over others and use of private security/financial resources to intimidate and
compromise some candidates and delegates.

To safeguard the overall credibility of the process, theFIEITand the
IEDRM will cooperate closely in accordance with their respective
mandates, to thoroughly investigate these allegations.

When investigations confirm that serious malpractices have occurred, the
FIEITand the IEDRM will take appropriate and decisive actions.
Such actions can and will include nullification of the election results and
disqualification of candidates who have committed the malpractices.

A continued and particular concern remain that some clans are not
adhering to the NLF requirements to fulfill the 30% quota by reserving for a
woman one seat in every three seats or combined seats of clans. This rule
needs to be respected in all the upcoming elections. Failure to fulfill this
requirement will result in action by theFIEITand IEDRM against the
offending clans both in past and upcoming elections.

TheFIEITand the IEDRM wish to reiterate that it is paramount requirement
for all stakeholders in this election to abide by the rules and regulations of
the electoral process, as defined and agreed by the NLF.

Omar Mohamoud Abdulle Abdirazak Barre Jama
FIEIT, Chairperson IEDRM, Chairperson

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