United Kingdom Ambassador to Somalia Kate Foster.
The British Ambassador to Somalia Kate Foster in a interview with outlet media spoke about a number of issues related to the upcoming elections in Somalia and concerns about the influence of Al-Shabab.
Asked in this interview about the level of fears that Al-Shabab could influence the upcoming elections in Somalia, Kate Foster expressed grave concern, saying everything would make sense for the electoral process.
”It is a concern but I think what is important is the process of electing delegates and the way it is taught will make sense. I hope there will be talks led by the Somali people, to have a system where the people can vote, and a system that I do not have now, not in the process of this ongoing election,” she said.
Kate Foster said that since the election agreements were reached on September 17 last year and on May 27 this year, the UK government, with the support of international donors, has provided $7.2 million in support of Somalia.
“The UK has no role in the conduct of the elections and it is a matter for the Somali people. I think our priority is to protect the progress that Somalia has made in the last 10 years, especially the success of debt forgiveness and progress. With access to international funding, especially health and education, Somalia is on track to achieve this debt forgiveness,” she said.
Kate also said that the UK had previously supported a one-person, one-vote election, but the recent one was more interesting than the local elections in Puntland, which were one person, one vote.
“The people of Puntland feel that they can directly vote for the candidate of their choice, so I think this is a much-needed dialogue, after this election,” said British Ambassador to Somalia Kate Foster.
Asked if Kate was aware of allegations of fraud in the Upper House elections in the regional administrations, the Ambassador said she welcomed the process that began with the Upper House elections.
“Elections for the Lower House are about to begin, the process must go smoothly and delegates should be selected in a transparent and fair manner. As states discuss the electoral process in the country, the reason donors are spending money on elections is to ensure reliable security at the polling stations and to prevent fears that could delay it,” said Kate Foster.
The British ambassador to Somalia also said that with the withdrawal of Amisom troops from Somalia, there could be fears about what happened in Afghanistan.
“I think the situation in Afghanistan is something that the Somali people have been talking about this week and there are lessons to be learned and the situation is similar to that in Somalia. I assure people that there is no immediate plan for Amisom, but to live this UN security council must systematically advance security leadership, transfer forces, and transfer the government,” Kate said.
Kate said the Somali government and the African Union are in talks to implement Amisom’s plan to hand over security in Somalia, which will eventually include advising and training Somali security forces.