Somaliland: Opposition Parties Meet...

Somaliland: Opposition Parties Meet Before Talk With Government.

Hargeisa, 24, April 2009 (Somalilandpress) — The leaders of the two opposition parties held a close-door meeting today in order to discuss issues before they sit with the government on Saturday. The meeting which took place at Maansoor hotel lasted three hours where the media was not allowed to be present.

"We are discussing issues concerning about the coming elections, we want to have a common understanding before we sit down with the government and what we decided is not for public" Said Mr. Siilaanyo of Kulmiye told Abdiqani Baynax of Somalilandpress. Mr. Siilaanyo said this is part of the preparations in order to reach a consensus to end the current political crisis in the country.

Dr. Mohamed-Rashid, the Vice Presidential candidate from UCID party told local media that the meeting is the result of series of meetings and consultations between the two parties during the past two weeks. "as we will be meeting the President on Saturday we decided to hold this meeting, to be on the same page" Said Dr. Rashid. "This is not coalition because we are the opposition parties, it is more like a consultation" he added.

Somaliland has been facing a constitutional crisis in the last few months when the Upper House of the parliament extended the government's term two times. Many mediation efforts failed but the Electoral Commission managed to bring all the sides on the table for face-to-face talks. Somalilandpress will keep an eye on this development and will be reporting from the meeting on Saturday.

Source: Somalilandpress