Puntland has deployed troops to areas of the Sool region to prevent voter registration for the one-person, one-vote elections that the federal government and the Northeastern administration of Somalia have begun there.
Reports indicate that Puntland troops have reached Boocame district and Falariyale area of the Sool region, with plans to prevent voter registration being conducted there by the federal and Northeastern electoral commissions.
These areas are home to the Vice President of Puntland, Ilyas Osman Lugatoor, who is openly opposed to conducting registration there.
The Vice President of Puntland is said to be using his own tribal forces, who have been prepared to fire on anyone who tries to carry out the registration.
The Vice President of Puntland recently visited these areas, and said that they are part of the Puntland administration, and he also laid the foundation stone for development projects that Puntland is implementing there.
However, these military activities are feared to create a conflict between Puntland and the Northeastern administration.
Recently, the president of the Northeastern administration of Somalia, Abdikadir Ahmed Firdhiye, and the federal government’s Minister of Interior recently inaugurated the registration of local government elections in Lascaanod.
