International Partners’ joint statement lauds Somaliland Elections, calls for women participation

International partners, in a joint statement, have called for women participation while congratulating the people of Somaliland, political parties, the National Electoral Commission and other government institutions on the successful conduct of the 2021 parliamentary and local council elections and on electoral security arrangements.

According to the statement, through these elections, the people of Somaliland demonstrated a strong commitment to the electoral process, to political participation and to strengthening democracy.
“We welcome in particular the historic election of minority groups to the House of Representatives and the large numbers of youth candidates elected.” The statement reads

Speaking on women participation and chance in the concluded elections, the statement said “We recognize the significant achievements of female candidates during this electoral process, but deeply regret that this has not translated to more women in elected office resulting in decreased women political representation.”
“It will be important for all stakeholders to learn from this, and for government, political parties and others to take actions to strengthen women’s political participation well in advance of future elections.” It stressed.
The statement advised stakeholders to consider women as they look forward to urgent and concrete steps from the new parliament and the government to ensure a fair representation of women in government and administration.
“We remain committed to continuing our constructive cooperation to further democratization and the inclusion of women and marginalized groups in Somaliland, and to support regular and timely elections at all levels of government.” The statement reads in part.

The International partners comprising of European Union, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom expressed their commitment to strengthening cooperation with the newly elected local councils and parliament, both on these issues and on other matters of mutual interest.