HARGEISA, Somalia May 9 - The president of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has been accused of signing a 'secret deal' with the President of Somalia's U.N.-backed Government of National Unity.
The two leaders of Somaliland's opposition parties, Kulmiye and UCID, held a joint press conference in the regional capital Hargeisa last Thursday where they accused Somaliland President Dahir Riyale of "refusing" to a sign the ruling issued by the mediation committee to end the months-long dispute over election delays.
Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, chairman of the Kulmiye Party and Riyale's main political challenger, told reporters at Hotel Imperial that the leaders of the three official political parties must sign the mediation committee's ruling.
"We are ready to fulfill the decisions reached by the mediation committee…It is a must that all three political party leaders come together and sign that agreement so that the public can have confidence," Mr. Silanyo said.
The UCID Party chairman, Mr. Faisal Ali Warabe, said: "It is clear to us that the [Somaliland] President is not ready to hold elections."
He went on to accuse Mr. Riyale was signing "secret deals" with Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the president of the U.N.-backed Somali interim government, which is facing a bloody anti-government insurgency in the national capital Mogadishu.
According to Mr. Warabe: "Riyale could face treason for entering into such an agreement with a government that opposes the independence of Somaliland."
Mr. Warabe, who is notorious for public outbursts and accusations against government officials, did not provide details of the alleged "secret deals" between Riyale and Sheikh Sharif.
The mediation committee's ruling was largely in favor of Mr. Riyale's administration, with the ruling approving the six-month term extension that was initially rejected by opposition parties as illegal.
It is not clear why the Somaliland leader has refused to sign the mediation committee's ruling.
Somaliland, located in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally.