By Suleiman Sabdow.

MOGADISHU: Council of opposition presidential candidates have vowed to boycott the ongoing parliamentary elections in Somalia alleging that the elections have been hijacked and that there are wanton corruption and malpractices in the exercise.

Addressing the media on Tuesday evening in the capital Mogadishu , the 15 member council said the ongoing House of representatives elections could plunge the volatile country into unprecedented chaos and mayhem if their concerns about the transparency of the process are not addressed immediately.

They outlined that they will not take part in the elections terming it a ‘naked daylight robbery’ and illegality in the thick of growing concerns on the new decision taken by the council which political pundits say will bring forth an uncertainty on the electoral process of the country.

This development comes barely a day after meeting Prime Minister Roble and conveyed their grievances to the PM who has been tasked to oversee and manage the elections.

Prime minister Mohamed Hussein Roble promised to effectively address their grievances and assured them that the elections will be transparent and credible.

However, the opposition leaders poked holes on pledges taken by the PM terming it as empty promises which were never fulfilled.

The leaders had requested the Prime Minister to halt the ongoing elections but on the other hand Roble was on the view that the elections should go on and that the remaining poll will be conducted in a free and fair manner.

Several close allies of president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo have been elected in the elections among them being acting National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) boss Yassin Abdullahi Farey over alleged flawed electoral process and the influence of the results by Villa Somalia.

The government has since denied any involvement in the exercise and termed the elections as free and fair and accused the presidential candidates of trying to divert the attention.