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Hargeysa,
Somaliland, September 19, 2009 – The leader of Somaliland’s opposition
KULMIYE party has categorically ruled out that their officials will have
any face-to-face meeting with president Rayale, saying there will be no
talks unless the president fully honors what has been agreed upon by the
three major political parties shortly after the six-month presidential
term extension in May.
Sillanyo said he had met with a group of traders who volunteered to
mediate between the opposition parties and the president and informed
them about his party’s “standpoint”
Speaking by phone to the Somaliland.Org news online, Sillanyo said:
“There is no face to face meeting that took place between our party and
the president and there will never be one until and unless the president
honors the previous agreement to which his party was a signatory. We
have also made our position very clear to that group. We will not talk
to nor shall we see the president until he honors the previous
agreement”.
Asked what they would do if the House of Elders extended the president’s
term of office for a third time, he said the people of Somaliland will
not accept any more presidential term extensions anyway. He said he was
confident that the Elders would respect the spirit of that agreement
signed by all three major political parties. They know about our
position and are also fully conversant with the contents of the
agreement in question, he added.
When the House of Elders extended president Rayale’s term of office by
six-months in May this year, there was an agreement signed by all
parties that there will be no further presidential term extensions. The
House of Elders acted as a witness to that agreement.
Meanwhile, members of the Lower House of Parliament postponed their
recess to resume the debate on the impeachment charges being brought
against president Rayale.
The majority of the Somaliland public wants Rayale to quit once his
mandate runs out on 29 September this year since the presidential
election will not take place on 27 September as announced by the
National Electoral Commission. However, Rayale and his inner circle are
doggedly determined to get a further presidential term extension come
what may.
The ongoing saga of Somaliland’s political crisis worsens as the two
sides drift even further apart.
Source: Somaliland Globe, September 18, 2009
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