Somaliland opposition parties announced that the talks between parties and government, which were aimed at resolving the dispute in the elections, have collapsed.

At a press conference in Hargeisa on Tuesday, UCID chairman Faisal Ali Warabe and Waddani chairman Hirsi Ali Haji Hassan said President Musse Bihi Abdi had withdrawn entirely from the ongoing talks and ignored the elders who were mediating between the opposition and government.

“We asked the elders how things were going and what kind of outcomes they had for us; unfortunately, they had no results from the President. He withdrew the trust he had previously given to the mediators”, according to Hirsi.

Hirsi Ali Haji continued, saying that the President’s decision demonstrates that he has lost all confidence in anyone as an impartial mediator since dissolving the mediation committee.

UCID chairman Faisal Ali Warabe said President Bihi had withdrawn his confidence in the House of Representatives chairman, Abdirisaaq Khalif Ahmed and Senate chairman, Saleeban Mohamud Adan after he chose the men to mediate the two sides.

The government of Somaliland and the two chairmen mediating the two sides have not yet responded to the talks that the opposition group said were collapsed.