Somali Magazine – Abshir Omar Huruse, Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced his resignation on Monday in order to participate in the next month’s election for the presidency of the Puntland autonomous state.
Mr. Huruse resigned willingly, citing his desire to devote more time to the Puntland presidential campaign, and delivered his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre. He had been a close cabinet member of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Said Deni, the president of Puntland, rescinded plans earlier this month to hold parliamentary elections using a single-member, single-vote system the following year. Puntland is a semi-autonomous state. Rather, he chose to proceed with an intricate, clan-based voting process.