Local Democracy in Action in Somaliland
20 12 2002
A brief modern history of the Republic of Somaliland
The Republic of Somaliland (North West Somalia), situated on the tip of the Horn of Africa, was formed in 1991 after unilaterally declaring independence from Somalia. The people of Somaliland had experienced more than three years of bitter civil war (1988-91) resulting in the deaths of nearly 60,000 people, massive displacement both internal and to other countries, and a near total destruction of infrastructure, communications systems, banking and all public services.
Following a period of inter-clan conflict, the people of Somaliland have settled internal disputes using traditional peace-building methods, and they have started to rehabilitate and reconstruct their damaged country. Demobilisation of former militia fighters into a national police force and army has created an environment of security. A stable administration has been formed, currently headed by President Riyaale Kahin, the former vice-president who inherited the leadership following the death of former President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal in May 2002. The transition of leadership took place smoothly.
A broad range of civil society organisations has emerged in response to the development needs of the population contributing to a dynamic environment for change. Women's groups are particularly active. The written media is able to publish with a freedom rarely found in the region, and human rights are openly discussed. The population has made enormous efforts to re-establish basic health and education services supported by ICD/CIIR and other NGOs.
Somaliland is not recognised internationally as a separate state, and this hampers anything other than minimal aid flows from major donors. However in a constitutional referendum held in May 2001, the people of Somaliland voted overwhelmingly in support of continued independence. In fact lack of recognition has created a culture of self-reliance among the Somali people, supported by relatives and friends in the diaspora.
The Local Council Elections of 15 December 2002
The ICD/CIIR monitoring team (for composition of the team, please see below) together with other observers of the elections in Somaliland, have issued the following statement:
"We witnessed the Somaliland local elections of 15 December 2002 and wish to make the following statement. Our presence as informal observers was undertaken with the knowledge of the National Electoral Commission. We witnessed voting at 81 polling stations in Woqoi Galbeed, Awdal, Saaxil, Togdheer and Sanaag regions, and the counting of votes at some polling stations and district centres.
We congratulate the Somaliland administration and the Somaliland people for their enthusiasm and commitment to a peaceful electoral process.
We congratulate the National Electoral Commission of Somaliland for their management of the electoral process.
In our view the electoral process and the day of polling were undertaken in line with internationally-recognised electoral norms. During the polling day we did not observe anything that would invalidate the electoral process.
We observed with interest the high participation of women voters. We noted, however, that the appointment of women to senior positions in the Electoral Commission was limited and the presence of women candidates among the political organisations was minimal.
We observed some procedural problems on the day of polling. A list of these with suggested recommendations for improvements will be forwarded later to the NEC. These problems, in our opinion, were due to lack of experience and capacity among electoral officials and knowledge among voters. This is understandable given this was the first multi-party election held in this region for 35 years.
Problems that arose during the polling day were resolved by the voters, political parties and electoral officials with maturity and self-discipline.
Having provided support to the electoral process throughout, national states within the EU were pleased to see a successful outcome to the process.
It is noted that the local elections in Somaliland have received substantial financial and technical support from a number of international donors including the European Commission and some European Union member states.
This statement should not in anyway construe recognition of Somaliland (north-west Somalia) as an independent state, as this is beyond the competence and mandate of our organisations."
International Cooperation for Development, Hargeisa and London Royal Danish Embassy, Nairobi
The ICD/CIIR monitoring team was composed of: Dr Adan Yousuf Abokor (Country Representative Somaliland, ICD/CIIR), Sa'ada Abdi Ahmed (HIV/AIDS Development Advisor, ICD/CIIR, Somaliland), Dr Steve Kibble (ICD/CIIR Advocacy Coordinator, Africa/Middle East), Pippa Hoyland (Joint Programme Manager Somaliland, ICD/CIIR), Mark Bradbury (International Somaliland expert), Ram Sedhain (ICD/CIIR development worker (DW) from Nepal - has observed elections in Nepal), Deborah Ossiya (ICD/CIIR DW from Uganda - has observed elections in Uganda), Mary Enright (Librarian - ICD Development Worker Borama supported by students from Amoud Community Based University), Janice Bowdery (ICD Development Worker - Borama); Halimo Elmi (ICD Development Worker in Somaliland), Dr. Abdirashid Hashi (ICD Development Worker Somaliland), Fowsia Dahir (ICD Administrator Somaliland); Feyruz Adam (ICD Development Worker Somaliland); Abdirahman Hudow Osman (ICD staff member Burao).
International Cooperation for Development (ICD) is the international skillshare programme of the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR).
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