Local elections in Somaliland in 2002
In the local elections in Somaliland on December 15, 2002 , district and municipal councils were elected in Somaliland (northern Somalia ), which has been de facto independent since 1991 and which in turn would appoint the mayors. These were the first democratic elections in Somalia since 1969. They also served to determine the parties that would be allowed in Somaliland: According to the Somaliland constitution , only the three parties with the largest number of voters in the local elections would be allowed for all subsequent elections.
Participating parties
After the constitution was passed in the constitutional referendum in Somaliland in 2001 , eight parties and political associations were initially founded to take part in local elections. Of these, two were merged into other organizations, so that a total of six parties ran for election.
- UDUB : the party founded by President Mohammed Haji Ibrahim Egal .
- Kulmiye : This party comprised many veterans of the rebel organization SNM (which had led the uprising in northern Somalia against the Siad Barres regime and had helped initiate Somaliland's declaration of independence) and made particular efforts to attract women as voters.
- UCID : Shaped by Somali countries who lived in exile in Scandinavian countries, this party represented center-left positions and the establishment of a welfare state based on the Western model. Their most important base was initially the Eidagalla Isaaq clan in the Woqooyi Galbeed region (capital Hargeysa and the surrounding area).
- ASAD ( Alliance for Salvation and Democracy ): mainly comprised people from the radical wing of the SNM, led by Suleiman Mohammed Ahmed Gaal , and received support mainly from his clan, the Habr Toljaala-Isaaq.
- Hormood ( Champions for Peace and Prosperity , fighters for peace and prosperity): Was initially supported by civil society organizations and made Umar Arteh Ghalib their chairman, was mainly connected to the Sa'ad Muse-Habr Awal-Isaaq clan and lost of support after failing to deliver on its initial promise to nominate 50% women.
- SAHAN (Somaliland Alliance for Islamic Democracy): Led by the former SNM politician and Interior Minister Mohammed Abdi Gaboose , this party was mainly supported by his Habr-Yunis-Isaaq clan. She emphasized the importance of Islam by including the Koran in her logo.
According to the constitution, three of these parties would be permanently admitted. In order to achieve permanent approval, one party had to achieve a 20% share of the vote in at least four of the six administrative regions. Should fewer than three parties exceed this hurdle, those with the highest proportion would receive approval. These restrictions were intended to prevent parties from arising that exclusively represent a particular clan or region. The establishment of parties based on clan membership, regionalism or religion was expressly forbidden.
Conducting the elections
The implementation of the local elections was in line with both domestic political demands for democratization and the desire to increase Somaliland's chances of international recognition through a successful transition to democracy.
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) made up of seven members appointed by the parties, the President and the Council of Elders (upper house of parliament) was responsible for implementation . International donors (various European countries through the European Commission and the US organization International Republican Institute ) contributed to the elections to the extent that they funded training programs for election workers and political parties, but the majority of the election was funded by Somaliland.
The problem turned out to be that both the parties and the electoral commission, the media and the public had little experience in dealing with a democratic election, as there had not been such a thing in the area since 1969. In addition, many eligible voters were illiterate. Voter registration and the unclear district divisions turned out to be further problems. Since 1991, the government had created a new region ( Saaxil or Sahil) and 20 new districts, many of which had not been approved by parliament and whose boundaries had mostly not yet been determined.
The Regions and Districts Act of 2002 formalized the administrative structure of Somaliland with six regions and 23 districts of grades A, B and C, in which local elections would take place. No local elections were held for the 18 new Grade D districts whose boundaries had not yet been determined.
In the eastern border regions of Sool and Sanaag , which are controversial between Somaliland and Puntland (see border dispute between Somaliland and Puntland ), forces loyal to Puntland threatened to prevent the elections from being held. President Dahir Riyale Kahin was attacked during a visit to Sool's capital, Las Anod, ten days before the elections . The NEC then decided to postpone elections indefinitely in four districts of Sool and Sanaag. Thus, the local elections took place in 19 of 23 districts.
There were allegations that the UDUB in particular, as a de facto "governing party", had exerted excessive influence. International election observers rated the election as non-violent, free and fair overall.
Results
| UDUB | Kulmiye | UCID | LOOKED AT | HORMOD | ASAD | Number of votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awdal | 58.65% | 13.61% | 7.39% | 4.48% | 7.19% | 8.68% | 100,495 |
| Hargeysa | 38.09% | 16.05% | 16.46% | 7.91% | 15.62% | 5.87% | 186.383 |
| Saaxil | 49.58% | 19.49% | 10.65% | 7.54% | 4.36% | 8.38% | 27,234 |
| Sanaag | 31.22% | 25.80% | 6.41% | 21.39% | 2.65% | 12.53% | 53.096 |
| Sool | 16.85% | 49.03% | 3.58% | 0.81% | 2.46% | 27.26% | 6.261 |
| Togdheer | 27.52% | 26.24% | 7.24% | 22.87% | 2.18% | 13.94% | 66,598 |
| Total | 40.76% | 18.90% | 11.24% | 10.89% | 9.21% | 9.00% | 440.067 |
A total of 440,067 voters took part, including many women, according to election observers.
The presidential party UDUB received by far the most votes with 40.76% and led in all regions except Sool. The Kulmiye party received 18.9%, the UCID 11.24%, SAHAN 10.89%, Hormood 9.21% and ASAD 9% of the vote. As a result, UDUB, Kulmiye and UCID were allowed for future elections.
The gap between UCID and SAHAN in third and fourth place, which amounted to less than 1,500 votes, was a particular cause for discussion. UCID did not reach the 20 percent hurdle in any region, while SAHAN did so in Togdheer and Sanaag. However, since neither of the two parties achieved a share of at least 20% in four regions, the pure number of votes was decisive, with UCID receiving approval as the third party.
Candidates who had been elected, but whose parties had not achieved permanent approval, usually joined one of the three successful parties. Most of the mayors who were to be appointed by the district councils belonged to the UDUB.
Remarks
- ↑ In 1979 elections to a “people's parliament” took place under Siad Barre , in which only candidates from the unity party XHKS stood for election. These elections were generally not considered free and democratic.
- ^ Regions & Districts Law (Law No: 23/2002), somalilandlaw.com
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- Mark Bradbury: Becoming Somaliland , 2008, ISBN 978-1847013101 (pp. 184-189)
- Report on the parliamentary elections 2005 of the International Republican Institute, with results tables for the local elections 2002 ( PDF ; 429 kB)
