The members of the two houses of the Federal Parliament of Somalia from SSC-Khaatumo want the elections for the SSC-Khaatumo seats to be held in Lascaanod.
They see this as the only chance to regain their seats, knowing that President Deni is planning to completely remove the current members of parliament representing Puntland from both houses of parliament.
President Deni has previously said that he is disappointed with the members of parliament that Puntland has selected for the Federal Parliament, accusing them of failing to defend Puntland’s interests.
President Deni is accused of hand-picking the current Puntland members of parliament in Mogadishu, and removing influential politicians who have long been members of the Somali parliament.
Deni, who is set to run for president of Somalia again, sees it as a political setback that the members of parliament from SSC-Khaatumo are being elected from outside Puntland. This is seen as the main reason why the Puntland administration is still opposed to the recognition of SSC-Khaatumo.
Recently, the National Consultative Council officially recognized SSC-Khaatumo as a state, meaning that the regions of Sool, Sanaag, and Buuhoodle district will be officially independent from Puntland.
