Constitutional referendum in Somaliland 2001

The constitutional referendum in Somaliland on May 31, 2001 was a vote in the de facto independent Somaliland (northern Somalia ) on the adoption of the Somaliland constitution .

According to official information, around two thirds of those entitled to vote took part with 1.18 million, 97.9% of which accepted the constitution. Observers doubted that the turnout and percentage of votes in favor were actually that high, but it seems certain that a majority of the population supported the constitution. This was also seen as an indirect vote for Somaliland's independence.

In the Sool region , which is controversial between Somaliland and the neighboring Somali region of Puntland , participation was significantly lower and was around 31% in the Las Anod district . Election observers from the US Initiative and Referendum Institute suggested that those who did not vote were thus expressing their opposition to independence and / or to President Mohammed Haji Ibrahim Egal . Overall, however, the vote was non-violent, free and fair.

The transitional government of Somalia called the referendum "illegal".

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• Somaliland National Referendum - Final Report of the Initiative & Referendum Institute's Election Monitoring Team (PDF; 577 kB)
• Mark Bradbury: Becoming Somaliland , 2008, ISBN 978-1847013101 (p. 133)
• David H. Shinn: Somaliland: The Little Country That Could (2002)