Somaliland House of Elders chairman Suleiman Adan (right) and Haji Abdi Warabe (centre) and Deputy Chairman Sheekh Ahmed Nouh Furre (left) pepare to announce the result of their mediation regarding dispute of the election of parliament speaker crisis that took place on 29 November 2005

Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 10, 2005 (SL Times) – Somaliland’s upper house of parliament, Guurti on Monday endorsed the November 29 election of Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi “Erro” as the Speaker of the newly-elected House of Representatives (lower house).

The Guurti’s ruling came following a dispute between parliamentarians belonging to the ruling UDUB party and the opposition majority over legality issues concerning the election of the speaker of the lower house and his two deputies during the inaugural session.

Erro and his two deputies, Abdul Aziz Mohamed Samale and Bashe Mohamed Farah were elected on November 29 but UDUB MPs rejected his selection as null and void.

However the Guurti intervened to settle the dispute. The Elders upheld the 29 November election of Speaker and his two deputies as correct.

Erro has been backed by the opposition’s KULMIYE party and his own UCID party (Justice and Welfare).

KULMIYE won 28 seats in the September 29 poll while UCID took 21 seats. UDUB secured only 33 seats, a result that wasn’t sufficient enough to carry the vote for selection of the house speaker.

Meanwhile Somaliland president Dahir Rayale and UDUB members of parliament have all accepted the Guurti’s decision endorsing the opposition-backed speaker and his two deputies.