The electoral commission announced the criteria for candidates running for president of Somalia, Garowe Online reports. Spokesman for the electoral commission Osman Libah Ibrahim held a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday explaining the criteria for candidates running for president. The ten point criteria included that the candidate must pay a $10,000 registration fee before running for elections. The candidate must be a Muslim and age must be 40 or over and not have a criminal background.
Another condition for candidates written in the newly approved constitution and reiterated by Mr. Ibrahim was that every candidate must have at least 20 supporters in parliament before running for president. The issue of a complete parliament is still in debate as the Technical Selection Committee (TSC) has rejected candidates for parliament while they look for other means of being instated.
Backed by Sharif Sheikh Ahmed some of the rejected candidates went to the Supreme Court to get the TSC ruling reversed. Aydid Ilka Hanaf Judge of Mogadishu’s Supreme Court ruled that the rejected candidates were patriotic Somalis who were falsely judged by the TSC and reversed the TSC’s ruling.
Full Article: allAfrica.com: Somalia – Electoral Commission Releases Criteria for Candidates Running for President.