Executive Summary

'A Vote for Peace'

How Somaliland successfully hosted its first Parliamentary Elections in 35 years

On September 29th 2005, when the people of Somaliland successfully elected their first state parliament, it represented not only the final stage in their long transition from clan-based power-sharing to multiparty politics - but the arrival of a competitive, democratic electoral culture in the wider Somali region. 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.

With such a critical - and vulnerable - final phase in its democratic transition, the 2005 elections called for a groundbreaking collaboration between Somaliland's politicians, its proactive civil society institutions, and their long-standing international partners. Bearing in mind the importance of the elections to regional peace, Interpeace (then the Wartorn Societies Project) and its local partner, the Academy for Peace and Development (APD), approached Somaliland's leaders to work with the country's National Electoral Commission (NEC) in laying the groundwork for a free and fair election. With a long-standing and widely-respected involvement in Somaliland's democratisation process - dating back before the 2001 constitutional referendum - the APD was the natural choice to host critical political forums and public consultations in the run-up to the parliamentary elections.

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 landmark parliamentary elections faced a number of critical - and potentially crippling - hurdles in the 18 months leading up to Election Day. Perhaps the most important was the lack of a proper electoral law for the allocation of parliamentary seats to the country's six regions, which had been dividing the House of Representatives along clan lines since 2001. Civic organisations were also campaigning hard for legal provisions to improve the chances of women and minority groups to gain greater representation in the new parliament. The other major predicament concerned areas of Sool and Sanaag in eastern Somaliland that were deemed too insecure for voting to take place, and the location and number of polling stations - with both candidates and local leaders pressuring the NEC to provide more stations in their own areas.

Other widespread concerns included the lack of resources and administrative capacity for managing the elections, the potentially partisan nature of the NEC, and the alleged use by the ruling UDUB party of public resources for its election campaign. In the run-up to the elections, the government was occasionally accused of using "undemocratic" practices to stymie freedom of speech and block political debates. Despite the approval of the UDUB, Kulmiye and UCID parties to contest the elections, their poorly developed and funded institutional structures - combined with the all-pervasive influence of the major clans - continued to threaten the possibility of impartial and qualified candidates being nominated for parliamentary seats.

Due to its prominent links with the political parties and the country's leadership, the APD was largely able to balance the thin line between the government, the parliament, the opposition parties and the NEC in the run-up to the elections. The parliament, for its part, had the unenviable task of passing an electoral law, for which reaching a compromise on the distribution of seats - amid a cacophony of competing clan interests - was to prove an enormous challenge. Throughout the election process, the APD continued to maintain strong working relations with the house leaders, the sub-committee responsible for drafting the electoral law, and individual lawmakers, by providing them with a steady stream of technical expertise and logistical support for both their public and behind-the-scenes meetings.

The Academy also worked closely with the NEC, providing it with vital technical and political support, and helping to promote links to secure international funding. Ultimately, the success of the electoral process depended upon the strength of collaboration between the NEC and the political parties, with the support of the APD, and the immense public will for peaceful and fair elections. Throughout the process, civil society played a significant role in the successful outcome of the parliamentary elections.

APD Activities
In order to assist the various stakeholders to get together and resolve their differences, the APD initiated a wide-ranging series of formal and informal meetings, workshops and public forums in the 18 months leading up to the elections. Since 2001, the Academy had been hosting monthly public debates and discussions on the political process and other relevant issues through its Forum for Civic Dialogue. When the House of Representatives passed a controversial electoral bill inhibiting the election in January 2005, the APD organised a highly-charged forum at which speakers from across the political and public spectrum accused the lawmakers of blocking the election process - and ultimately forced them to reverse their positions. After an amended law was passed in April 2005 - effectively paving the way for elections - the Academy hosted two further forums that addressed critical issues of clan representation and equity, and the exclusion of women from party nominations.

Between March and July 2005, the APD hosted seven participatory workshops that brought together all the key stakeholders - from the government and parliament, the NEC, the political parties, elders, civic groups and the media - to share and compare their priorities and build consensus on the way forward. These workshops also reviewed and endorsed a Somali-language Voter Education Manual and a Media Code of Conduct to govern the behaviour of the press during the elections, and explored ways of expanding the role of civic organisations and the training of parliamentary candidates.

At the higher political level, the APD was instrumental in hosting and organising consultative meetings that brought together senior government, parliamentary and party leaders with civic leaders and international partners to address and resolve critical issues - including the trickiest issue of seat distribution - right up until the election month. By May 2005, with a consensual electoral law passed and funds for the election secured, the Academy began to host more inclusive discussions between the political parties, the NEC and government officials to develop a Political Parties' Code of Conduct for the campaign and electoral process, and to discuss the issue of 'non-voting areas' in Sool and Sanaag. These discussions undoubtedly helped to diffuse political tensions and to improve the political environment in the run-up to the elections. The APD's politically neutral nature also put it in a vital position to provide an impartial and transparent channel for donor funding to the NEC.

The APD was also instrumental in providing hands-on technical support to several critical areas of the election preparations, including seconding a renowned legal advisor to parliament to redraft a new electoral law, hiring a consultant to assist local journalists' associations to write their code of conduct, and hosting several training workshops for the political parties and their candidates in each region. The Academy also sponsored two 'peace missions' to Ceerigaabo in Sanaag and to northern Hargeysa to persuade local leaders and communities to take part in the elections. APD cameramen recorded all public proceedings related to the elections in order to disseminate key messages about political developments and voter education to the Somaliland public.

APD Inputs and Achievements
Among a wide variety of interventions, from groundbreaking public meetings to urgent behind-the-scenes negotiations with top leaders, the APD maintained a constant and consistent presence in facilitating and pushing the electoral process forwards. Among the most critical achievements that were realised between April 2004 and the post-election period under the Dialogue for Peace were:

• 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 APD's legal consultant - 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.

Lessons and Recommendations
The Dialogue for Peace framework provided a uniquely impartial, non-interventionist platform for the WSP/APD partnership to provide practical support to the electoral process, while remaining firmly 'in the background' on matters of governance and statehood. This objective standpoint enabled the Academy to address the NEC's financial and logistical concerns while providing the international community with concrete reassurances on transparency and accountability. The WSP/APD arrangement involved the creation of a Project Management Team, consisting of four international experts based at the NEC offices, who were there not to impose but to support and encourage - with local supporting staff to ensure that their advice remained realistic and flexible in the Somaliland context.

While the country managed to stage its elections for the relatively economical sum of US$ 2.7 million, it is clear that the state's lack of formal international recognition continues to exert a heavy cost - denying it bilateral assistance for much needed institution-building and democratic reform. Considering these weaknesses, the elections can be considered a major success in terms of their peaceful nature and transparent outcome. Ultimately, this achievement resulted from the strong and impartial coordinating role of the NEC and its close collaborative efforts with the political parties, assisted by the APD, and the strength of the public's commitment to free, fair and peaceful elections.

After the elections, in a nationwide assessment exercise conducted by the APD and the WSP Project Management Team, three key issues emerged as critical to the future of Somaliland's democratisation: developing a democratically agreed system for the future of the Guurti, or House of Elders; the production of a single electoral law to govern the conduct of all future elections; and the review of contentious elements of the constitution.

Beyond the holding of elections, it is clear that Somaliland's transition to a stable and functional democracy calls for many other core developments, including the reform of state institutions, the devolution of power, and major societal initiatives to lay the foundations for a long-term democratic culture. In the immediate future, the major challenges involve the need to set up democratic institutions and undertake key constitutional, legal and administrative reforms to build upon the democratic advances of the recent elections.

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