High-level Delegation from EU, UK Ambassadors Visit Somaliland for Election Delays

High-level delegation of ambassadors from EU and UK reached today at Egal International Airport, Hargeisa, for talks relating to Somaliland’s delayed election.

This high-level delegation, which consisted of countries and other donors who support Somaliland’s election and democraization process, comes after the political parties deadlocked on the important issues for holding scheduled Elections this year.

Ministers of Foreign and Interior Affairs, Mr Mohamoud Haji Faratoon and Mr Mohamed Kahin welcomed the delegation at Hargeisa Airport’s VIP lounge briefly before been transported to the nearby Ambassador Hotel.

Sources close to the political parties have confirmed to us that this delegation comes to Hargeisa to meet both the government and opposition parties and to pressure them for an agreement on election matters.

Somaliland.com reported on January of this year, that Mrs Harriet Baldwin, UK’s State Minister of Africa and International Development, speaking at British Parliament in London reiterated that “The UK remains committed to supporting timely elections in Somaliland, and UK will lead a high-level delegation from UK and EU to Somaliland.

Somaliland Election face more delays

Chairman of Upper House of Parliament (Guurti) Mr Suleiman Mohamoud Adan recently doubted that the polls would happen this year, after meeting with the NEC Commissioners, given the required 10-month preparation time, and the difficulty in getting the parties to agree ahead of that.

The main opposition party doesn’t want current election commission members to prepare the next poll, increasing NEC members to nine and wants the selection of the next NEC members be divided fairly between parties.

Parties reach no agreement:

Yesterday, talks between Somaliland political parties ended up with no agreement on the election issues.

Mr Hussein Ahmed Aideed of Waddani (Opposition) told the local press that “parties have what looks-like irreconcilable difference stands on the current members of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the composition and procedure of selection of future NEC members.”

The election of Somaliland’s lower house of parliament (Representatives) is scheduled to take place at the end of this year. But the time for the election of local governments is not set although their extended term ended this week, on March 28, 2019.

Election Challenges

The first challenge is a technical one – the National Electoral Commission (NEC) says it requires at least 10 months preparing for the elections. Not only are 82 parliamentary positions up for grabs, but also those of the local councils, if they are scheduled for the same date. So there will be much smaller and localized contests, which complicates the tasks on hand.

The second challenge is political. The main opposition party, Waddani, has refused to work with the current NEC, contributing to the delays. Waddani contested the 2017 presidential poll results but withdrew its complaints after episodes of violence. Later, Waddani rescinded their complaints for the greater good of Somaliland’s stability.

Waddani continues to disagree that the current NEC members should prepare the ground for the next election. The party argues that the NEC term is ending on November, just weeks before the election and they previously oversaw a flawed election in 2017, “so how can they be trusted to conduct a better process now? Said Hussein Aideed, who is part of Waddani’s team for election negotiations.

Waddani has proposed dismissing the current NEC, but the president and the ruling Kulmiye party have refused these demands; replacing all the commissioners as that would call into question the legitimacy of its 2017 victory, saying the NEC is competent. The third political party, UCID (For Justice and Development), has recently inclined towards Kulmiye on most of these matters.

Negotiations were continuing sluggishly, but a recent meeting to discuss these concerns was reportedly ended without a deal.

Civil society representatives, SONSAF, lamented to the local press the difficult situation in which neither side is completely right or wrong. They believe Waddani’s complaints should be heard, and that the government hasn’t done enough to move beyond the impasse. They also called on the NEC commissioners to resign for the greater good.

They cited the similar historical precedent. When Kulmiye was in opposition in the mid-2009-2010, it complained about the composition of the NEC and had it replaced, what’s so different now that Kulmiye is in power.

The last challenge is more complicating one. It is the need for a new electoral law ahead of the contest that would deal with the representation of women and minorities. There is also pressure by some regions to reallocate the division of parliamentary seats ahead of the vote.

To solve the regional seat allocation, the Center for Policy Analysis (CPA) recommended that “the President should take leadership and active role in finding out a solution for the seat allocation of the House of Representatives, and conduct inclusive and consultative process.

Stay tuned

Somaliland.com will constantly update the news of the upcoming meetings of this delegation

Read also: UK Supports Timely Elections in Somaliland Jan, 2019.