• Introduction

Somaliland is located on the eastern Horn of Africa. Somaliland occupies the same land area controlled by The British Colonial Rulers before 1960. The country became independent on 26 June 1960. Seat of governmnet was moved from Hargeisa to Mogadishu for the first time on 1 July 1960 after the union was announced, however Somaliland withdrew from that failed union on 18 May 1991 and the nation’s capital is once again moved back to Hargeisa.

• Population

3.5 million people

• Democracy in Somaliland

- Somaliland National Electoral Commission

The National Electoral Commission of Somaliland which was established by the Presidential and Local Council elections law (Law No. 20/2001) on January 21, 2001 is an independent Body.

The Commission consists of seven members who are nominated by different institutions (three members were nominated by the late president of Somaliland, two were nominated by the House of Elders and two were nominated by the opposition parties). By law the appointment of the members of the commission must be approved by the House of Representative. This was done on January 21, 2002. Their term of office is five years.

National Electoral Commission of Somaliland which was established by the Presidential and Local Council elections law (Law No. 20/2001) on January 21, 2001 is an independent Body. The Commission consists of seven members who are nominated by different institutions (three members were nominated by the late president of Somaliland, two were nominated by the House of Elders and two were nominated by the opposition parties). By law the appointment of the members of the commission must be approved by the House of Representative. This was done on January 21, 2002. Their term of office is five years.

The Commission’s statutory duty is to organize and conduct free and fair elections in Somaliland. Although the responsibility of the commission is enormous, yet its main functions can be summarized as:.

1. Undertake the registration of the voters
2. Set the dates of the election
3. Set the number and the location of the polling stations;
4. Appoint the staff of the Central office and those of the offices of the regions and districts and polling stations;
5. Conduct and oversee the election

- Political Parties in Somaliland
There are three political parties in Somaliland even though there is a fourth one that has not been rectified by the parliament and National Electoral Commission.
1: Udub Party (United Democratic People’s Party), the ruling party led by president Dahir Rayaale Kahin. He became the third president of Somaliland on May 5, 2002, after the death of Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal. He won elections on April 14, 2003, representing the Ururka Dimuqraadiga Umada Bahawday (UDUB), or United Democratic People’s Party, and was sworn into office on May 16, 2003.

His previous posts include a diplomat at the Somali Embassy in Djibouti; he was also in intelligence; governor of Awdal; a businessman; and vice president of Somaliland (1997 – 2002).

2: Kulmiye Party; the party was registered in May 2002, and run for the December 2002 local elections, winning enough votes to become one of the three permanent political parties in Somaliland. It’s the main opposition party and its led by Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud (Siranyo).

Mohamed attended the secondary schools of Sheikh and Amoud from 1946-1957. He passed the advanced level GCE examinations in London from 1958-1960. He attended college at the University of Manchester, England and earned an Honors Bachelor’s Degree in Economics (1960-63). He completed his Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Manchester in 1966.

Silanyo served as a junior official at the Ministry of Planning and Coordination in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1965 to 1969. He was also the Minister of Planning and Coordination (1969-1973), the Minister of Commerce (1973-1978 and 1980-1982), and the Chairman of the National Economic Board (1978-1980). He was the Chairman of the Somali National Movement’s UK branch from 1982 to 1990, and was that organization’s longest-serving chairperson. From 1993 to 1997 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Somaliland. He served as the Somaliland Minister of Finance from 1997 to 1999, in which position he initiated a program of fiscal reform. From 1999 to 2000, he worked as Somaliland’s Minister of Planning and Coordination]], a position from which he resigned in 2001.

3: Ucid party (Justice and Welfare Party of Somaliland) is the third party, and its led by Faisal Ali Warabe.

Faisal Ali Warabe was born in 1948 in Hargeisa, Somaliland. He earned an MSc in Engineering at St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russia in 1973. From 1997-2001, he enrolled at the Helsinki University Faculty of Social Sciences, in the Social Policy Department. He has been a regional director in Somalia’s Ministry of Public Works.

Faysal Ali Waraabe rose to the main platform of the Somaliland politics when he single handedly opposed appointing president in a clan convention ( shir beeled), by creating the first opposition party in Somaliland.

Mr Waraabe is charismatic politician who is known to deliver powerful, presuasive speeches. The chairman of UCID party traveles frequently to spread Somaliland’s agenda in becoming recocnized, independent country. He is someone that is well known, with connections in Western countries. Faysal Ali is also an activist from clanism, he is someone that includes all in his speeches message that discourages people against clanism.

Faysal is new to mainstream politics, he was a humanitarian who lobbied western countries to assist hospitals and disable people. Faysal also had a major role in bringing peace after the brief clash of Somalilands clans. The reason Faysal got into politics is said not to be for power, but to bring Somaliland into to the modern world.

Mr Waraabe can be seen in Somaliland visiting orphans, being an outspoken activist for minority groups( Gabooye), he was recently awarded by this group with a medal of honor. Mr Waraabe is also someone who visits high schools and colleges students, feeding them hope that they can rely on their country to provide them with opportunities such as employment.

Being the Chairman and member of the core founders of the UCID party, Faysal Ali has transformed the Party to a modern, somewhat very close to western political parties. Ucid, with Chairman Faysal are proactive campaigners, who hold seminars to teach citizens of the objectives of their party. Faysal Ali has managed to mobilize enough supporters for his party to become the party that is assumed to win the upcoming party.

He speaks Somali, English, Russian and some Finnish.

Previous works and porfolios:
* Regional Director, Ministry of Public Works, Somalia
* Director of Planning and Building, Ministry of Public Works
* Chief Engineer, Mogadishu City, Somalia
* President of a private construction Company (AYAAN)
* 2001 Chairman of Somaliland Society in Europe
* 2001 Chairman of Somaliland Association in Finland
* 2001 Chairman of Somali Social Democrats Party
* 2000 Chairman of Somaliland Association in Finland
* 1997 Chairman of Somali Social Democrats Party

Media reports

Somaliland hopes to be independent after election

The state of Somaliland hopes next year’s presidential elections will lead to international recognition of the northern Somali enclave as an independent country, officials said on Sunday.

The polls are seen by many as an acid test for the former British protectorate which broke away from Somalia in 1991 when the ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the Horn of Africa country into anarchy.

Somaliland has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity and has held previous democratic elections, but analysts say it is not recognised globally because of concerns that rewriting colonial borders would open a Pandora’s Box of other secession claims.

“The election is a test for Somaliland’s recognition bid,” electoral commission chairman Mohamed Ismail Mohamed said. “So many countries are waiting to see how we will conduct our election. It will be transparent, free and fair.”

According to a European Union study seen by Reuters, the region has substantial untapped resources of oil, coal and metals such as gold, platinum, copper, nickel and zinc.

Somaliland’s 850 km (528 miles) of coastline on the Gulf of Aden also offer potential for a fisheries industry.

Presidential elections were postponed in 2007 and again this year due to what officials called technical problems, including inadequate voter registration and planning time.

The polls are due to be held before April 6, 2009, following a civil registration process.

Somaliland’s system of government consists of a house of representatives elected directly by the people and an upper chamber, or Guurti, consisting of traditional elders representing the different clans and sub-clans.

“We will do everything to make sure the elections are held. We have a unique infant democracy combining a traditional chamber and a parliamentary system. We can not afford to fail,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Duale told Reuters.

SomalilandPress information on Somaliland.

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