Somaliland To Set Another Democracy Record On May 31
The Republic of Somaliland is poised to set another record in flawless electioneering and 1P-1V elections come May 31, 2021.
According to our national constitution of Somaliland, every citizen of the Republic of Somaliland who fulfills the legal requirements has the right to be elected and to vote.
In February 1960, the British Somaliland Protectorate held the first parliamentary elections in which three political parties, SNL, USP, and t NUF, contested for 33 seats. This was a good start for the people of Somaliland towards multi-party elections and free and fair elections. This election gave hope to the people of Somaliland who were preparing for full independence and elect directly their representative councils
Between 1st July 1960 and 18th May 1991 Somaliland was in a Somali republic, the country has held elections held by civilian governments and the military government which was all overshadowed by rigged elections
On 18th May 1991 Somaliland regained its independence and has rebuilt national institutions, since the 1991 conference in Burao, which was elected as the first government of Somaliland choosing the clan system which was based on the social culture system Somaliland.
In 1993, the second Somaliland Clan Conference was held in Borama another elected a new government and new councils re-elected in the traditional system of communities
In 1997, the third conference of Somaliland communities was held in Hargeisa it was the last of the clan system and the conference was decided to move a system of modern government with a multi-party system and the constitution implementation one person and one vote and moved from the national charter to the constitution approved by referendum
On 31st May 2001, a referendum was held on the constitution of the Republic of Somaliland obliged to move from a clan system to a multi-party system and elections that enable citizens to directly elect their representatives and local government officials, parliamentarians, and presidents. On 18 December 2002, the office of the National Electoral Commission was established in accordance with the law National Elections Act №20, 2001. The first work performed by the commission national elections included; voter registration used a book registration system to record voter data that when no longer possible. During the tenure of the Electoral Commission, the office experienced five committees administered at different times
Article 9 of the constitution of the Republic of Somaliland states the number and basis of the parties Somaliland, also Articles 88, 42 stipulate that the president, the Vice-President and the House of Representatives are elected every five years, while Article 58 states that The House of Elders is elected every six years.
Based on these points it was established political associations based on the law of self-government of political parties and associations in Somaliland law number 14
In 2002, six political associations were directly registered in Somaliland recognized their full participation in local council elections at the same time the top three parties are transitioning to become national parties as he writes constitution and law number 14
On December 15, 2002, Somaliland held its first local council elections The contest was contested by political parties such as Udub, Kulmiye, Ucid, Sahan, Asad, and Hormuud, and after the vote, there were national parties; Ucid Kulmiye and Udub
In 2011 a committee of academics, civil society organizations, and others were formed who recommend whether to reopen political associations or not they reported that the people they met in most of the six regions supported The reopening of political associations and thus the reopening of political associations and Immediately amended and supplemented by rule number 14 and the committee was appointed registration of political associations
In 2012 Somaliland re-registered political associations to provide opportunities for citizens wishing to open political associations and join national parties. In 2011, 2012, more than 15 new political parties registered in Somaliland. Finally, when the Political Associations Registration Committee conducted an assessment in accordance with Law №14, six new political associations were awarded membership certificates, namely; Wadani, Haqsoor, Umada, Dalsan, Rays, and Nasiye contested local council elections against the three national parties in 2002: Kulmiye, Ucid, and Udub
Shortly before the 2012 election, Udub’s party and Nasiye’s political association were left out of the race. Two national parties and five political parties participated in the election. Following the 2012 election, UCID and Wadani became national parties, participating in the 2017 presidential election and now the country's three national parties.
Since 2002 Somaliland has held six elections: two local elections, three presidential elections, a referendum constitution, two registration, and parliamentary elections, all of which were held peacefully and in the presence of international representatives. and later acknowledged in accordance with international and Somaliland electoral law
May 31st, the people of Somaliland will go to the polls to make history and vote directly for their local councilors and representatives.
The election will be held in all six regions of Somaliland, 23 ELECTORAL DISTRICTS, 2,709 polling stations and will be voted for by more than +1.06M NEC registered voters and will be contested by 3 national parties with 798 candidates from all regions of Somaliland. and will run for local councils and representatives.
This makes Somaliland a rare democracy that exists in the whole of Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa, which has been plagued by conflict and dictatorship. The international community admires the free and fair elections of the people of Somaliland and the peaceful transfer of power.
The writer is a liberal student based in Somaliland.
A.qani Hussein Mohammed (BPA)
