Somaliland: Supporting free and fair elections

What is the problem?

Somaliland is a self-declared independent state which unilaterally left the collapsed state of Somalia in 1991. However, it has not yet been internationally recognised as a sovereign state.

By comparison with most of former Somalia, Somaliland is peaceful, and has held a series of elections for government and parliament. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2005. Presidential elections were due in 2008 but were postponed and delayed by organisational and political disagreements. They are now taking place on 26 June 2010.

Timely elections are important for good governance and regional stability in this volatile region.

What are we doing?

Progressio, with UK-based organisations Somaliland Focus (UK) and the Development Planning Unit of University College London, has been invited by the Somaliland National Electoral Commission (NEC) to co-ordinate a team of international election observers. Progressio also did this during the 2005 parliamentary elections and produced a report Further steps to democracy: The Somaliland parliamentary elections, September 2005.

As well as observing the elections, we have also been active in building international support for the electoral process in Somaliland in general. By doing this, we are helping free and fair elections to take place, a vital building block for stability and good governance in the country and region.

Our advocacy work at an international level draws on long-standing partnerships with civil society organisations in Somaliland built up through our development worker programme. So when we comment on the election process, we do so from a position of credibility. 

What have we achieved so far?

Steve Kibble, our advocacy officer, liaises regularly with Progressio’s office in Hargeisa, where our country representative, Dr Adan Abokor, has played a role in some of the obstacle-breaking agreements on the road to the latest elections.

We also have a key influence behind the scenes in the UK and at international forums. We have regular meetings with diplomats and funders to discuss governance issues, and with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Somaliland. We have held joint meetings with the Horn of Africa Group at Chatham House, including the launch of the joint facilitators’ pre-election report. Steve Kibble, along with his co-ordinating colleague Michael Walls from the Development Planning Unit of University College London, has co-written a conference paper for Leeds University. We continue to work with international organisations and electoral bodies as well as diaspora organisations on the election and wider democracy agenda, with a view to helping Somalilanders achieve free and fair elections.

As well as helping to plan and co-ordinate the observation mission for the 2010 presidential elections – including liaising with our funders for this, the British Embassy in Addis Ababa – Steve Kibble will be part of a Progressio team participating in the election observers team. As in previous years, we will produce an assessment of the elections, an interim report to the NEC and a wider publication.

In Somaliland itself, we work closely with Progressio partners, civil society organisations and women’s groups to follow the progress and obstacles to elections, and understand what community members are saying about this. We work with them to analyse the findings. Then we share this thinking with the Somaliland government, and others in a position to influence the Somaliland government – such as diaspora groups, Somaliland government representatives abroad, academics following Somaliland issues, and interested governments. We also keep the Somaliland public informed with regular press releases, which are usually well reported in the Somaliland media.

What challenges remain?

For Somaliland to continue on the sometimes rocky path to democratisation, we need to help build on the desire of the Somaliland people for stability combined with democracy. For Somaliland’s people, typically living in poor conditions with very little money, beset by authoritarianism, Islamist insurgency and political insecurity, the process needs to continue.

Further reading

Download a copy of ‘Beyond Polarity: Negotiating a Hybrid State in Somaliland‘ by Michael Walls, Steve Kibble [available from the Africa Spectrum website (PDF)]