By Dawan Africa - Reporter
Mogadishu(Mogadishu24)-Somalia's State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Ali Balcad, on Saturday revealed the reason behind the controversial letter by the Speaker of the parliament withdrawing Ms. Marwa Abdibashir Hagi from the IPU's presidential race.
Hon. Ali Balcad, who is also a serving member of Parliament, stated that Somalia had earlier negotiated with a Tanzanian delegation to support Ms. Tulia Ackson for the position.
"Eighteen months ago, we received a Tanzanian delegation that requested our support for the Inter-Parliamentary Union's presidential position. We pledged our support and agreed on certain issues that were in the interest of Somalia," Hon. Balcad said.
He also revealed Somalia's interest in joining the East African Community and its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
"We (Somalia) are interested in becoming a member of the United Nations Non-permanent Security Council in 2025 and 2026. In 2025, we would like to take over the seat from Mozambique, which currently holds it. Tanzania and Mauritania have also expressed their interest in the seat. We have written a letter to Tanzania, and the Prime Minister also visited Tanzania two months ago to request them to withdraw for us and offer their support. They have responded for us and withdrawn from the race in our favor," Hon. Balcad stated.
"Tanzania is also a member of the East African Community, which has its headquarters in Arusha. We also requested their support for the East African Community seat. Tanzania pledged to support us for both seats: the East African Community seat and the UN Non-permanent Security Council's seat," he added.
This revelation comes after concerns were raised about a letter written to the IPU's Secretariat by the Speaker of the Somali Parliament, announcing the withdrawal of Ms. Marwa Abdibashir from the Union's presidential race.
In the official letter, the Speaker stated that Ms. Marwa had formally submitted a withdrawal notice to the Federal Parliament of Somalia.
Ms. Marwa Abdibashir Haji revealed on Friday that the letter from the Somali Parliament Speaker, Adan Mohamed Noor, has damaged her candidacy for the presidential seat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
"We went to Angola ahead of the elections, and we were given offices. The other candidates noticed how busy my office was and the support I was getting from the parliament members. But less than 48 hours before the election, I was called to the Secretariat's office and shown the letter written by the Speaker of the Somali Parliament," Ms. Marwa explained.
She finished fourth in the race with 11 votes, behind Senegal (59 votes), Malawi (61 votes), and the Tanzanian candidate who emerged victorious with 172 votes in yesterday's IPU presidential election.
Political analysts have questioned the Speaker's role in overturning a decision made by both Houses of Parliament and requesting withdrawal without the consent of Ms. Marwa.
