NPGM '06: Elections Entry Point Presentation
Mohammed Hassan Ibrahim, APD Lead Researcher
Though the people of Somaliland voted to elect a
new House of Representatives, at the same time they were for voting
for the consolidation of the peace and political stability.
On September 29th 2005, the people of Somaliland successfully elected
new House of Representatives, hoping that this election would introduce
a competitive, democratic electoral culture in Somaliland. This
would be a political culture in which party affiliation takes precedence
over clan affiliation.
Since its local council and presidential elections, held in December
2002 and April 2003 respectively, Somaliland's transition to multiparty
democracy had been widely regarded as 'two-thirds complete'. Until
opposition political parties, which had been absent from the parliament,
were able to actively contest parliamentary seats, it was clear
that Somaliland would continue to function as de facto single-party
state. Holding the parliamentary election was very urgent.
In March 2004, under the WSP's Dialogue for Peace (DfP) Programme,
the Academy set out to assist the NEC, the Somaliland Government,
its political parties, and other national and local actors in ensuring
that the elections would be held in a free, fair, transparent and
peaceful manner. Specific objectives of the DfP included: providing
a forum for the public to maintain pressure on politicians to keep
the electoral process on track; providing technical and legal assistance
to the parliament to reform the all-important electoral law; facilitating
constructive dialogue between the three political parties on potentially
divisive issues; generating formal codes to govern the conduct of
the elections; and promoting public awareness of their importance
through the media and other civic institutions.
In November 2004, a WSP/APD National Project Group Meeting in Hargeysa
brought together more than 80 delegates from Somaliland's central
and local government, Houses of Parliament, civil society organisations,
and other concerned groups to ratify the parliamentary elections
as a crucial and relevant entry point for the future political stability
of Somaliland.
Key Issues
The Electoral Law
Passing the electoral law was the key obstacle to the election process.
This included the need to find a solution to controversial issues
such as the parliamentary seat distribution and a mechanism for
the non-voting areas in Sool Sanaag and Togdheer regions.
Election Management
There were concerns about:
- The effectiveness and the impartiality of the National Electoral
Commission;
- Securing enough funds to run the election;
- Preventing the illegal use of public funds and property by the
parties during the election campaign;
- The availability of inedible ink;
- The accessibility to extensive voter education;
- Sufficient training to the polling staff and political parties'
agents;
- The hostilities between the government and the opposition and
its impact on the political climate before the election.
Activities and achievement
- Resolving the distribution of seats: A weeklong APD-hosted meeting
between the NEC and the political parties in February 2005 led
to a critical modification of the original 1960 electoral arrangements,
which distributed seats to regions according to their population
size or for political reasons, and provided a crucial breakthrough
in reaching an acceptable compromise on this most contentious
of issues.
- Ratifying the electoral bill: Following divisive back-and-forth
negotiations between the parliament, the Constitutional Court,
and the President, the Lower House in April 2005 finally approved
the draft electoral law drawn up in conjunction with the external
legal consultant provided by APD - effectively paving the way
for the parliamentary elections.
- Promoting international support: The final report of the APD's
electoral law advisor helped to generate greater international
support for the elections, which was officially channelled through
the APD/WSP partnership. Working with the NEC, WSP developed a
formal programme and budget to guide the funding of the elections,
with the APD designing mechanisms to ensure funds were delivered
efficiently and transparently. The partners were closely involved
in the organisation of a successful high-level donor mission to
review election preparations in August 2005.
- Establishing codes of conduct: The APD was instrumental in facilitating
extensive and inclusive consultations to draft two vital codes
for the holding of elections: one for the conduct of the political
parties, which included the establishment of an independent Election
Monitoring Board, a deal on equal media coverage, and a timetable
for political rallies; the second for the conduct of the local
media, to ensure objective, accurate and equitable reporting of
the electoral process.
- Monitoring and training: After its widely-respected involvement
in Somaliland's previous elections, the APD was invited to monitor
the NEC's selection of officials to manage the electoral offices
at the regional and district levels. After selecting the officials,
the Commission requested the APD to conduct six regional training
workshops on the electoral law and the Political Parties' Code
of Conduct for 150 election candidates and officials.
- Civic education: The APD conducted two civic education workshops
in Hargeysa and Boorome to enhance public awareness about the
elections, and drafted and published a Somali-language Voter Education
Handbook containing vital information on the roles of different
stakeholders, citizens' rights, voting, and the election process.
Recommendations from the Research
- Developing a democratically agreed electoral system for the
the Guurti (House of Elders);
- Production of a single electoral law to govern the conduct of
all future elections;
- Review of contentious elements of the constitution including
the limitation of the political parties.
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