Garowe Online (Garowe)
7 January 2009
Independent media organizations have been banned from live coverage of tomorrow's presidential election in Somalia's Puntland region, Radio Garowe reports.
Abdullahi Said Samatar, Puntland's security minister, issued the order Wednesday in Garowe, the regional capital of Puntland.
Under the order, journalists are not allowed to broadcast live reporting from inside the Puntland Parliament hall, where 66 MPs will elect the region's next president and vice president tomorrow in a hotly-contested election.
Journalists and "some members of the [Puntland] election commission" have rejected Security Minister Samatar's decree, sources said.
Unconfirmed reports said that Mr. Abdirashid Mohamed Hersi, the new Speaker of parliament, has also rejected the order and is expected to support local news agency's desire for live reporting as the historic 2009 election takes place.
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