104
Yes, we have been working with political parties in Somaliland for some time,
with lots of international examples, but the scale of the problem far exceeds the
resources [IRI has been able to receive]. Political parties are at the core [of the
democratic system]; they are the only ones to formally represent and advocate on
behalf of constituent interests. There seems to be plenty of funding for other
institutions, especially civil society, but not nearly enough, even relatively
speaking, for political party development work. There is a real asymmetry.
Legal Context and Background
The 2001 Somaliland constitution describes a multiparty system, but one limited to three
national parties. Somaliland’s constitutional limit of three official political parties is meant to
ensure that parties represent large portions of the population, rather than having a proliferation
of smaller parties that are clan or regionally-based.
The first local council elections in 2002, contested by six political organizations,
152
paved the
way for three official political parties to compete in the 2005 parliamentary elections; these
three political organizations had to win the most votes nationwide and to achieve at least 20
percent of the vote in at least four of Somaliland’s six regions.
153
These successful
organizations became official political parties: the United Democratic Party (UDUB), Kulmiye
and the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID). In the subsequent 2005 parliamentary elections,
contested by only these three political parties, UDUB won approximately 39.0 percent of the
vote (33 seats), Kulmiye received approximately 34.1 percent of the vote (28 seats), and UCID
received approximately 26.9 percent of the vote (21 seats).
The second local council elections were slated to take place five years after the first, in 2007,
but were postponed until 2012 for various political and technical reasons. In addition, the
parliamentary elections slated for 2010 were postponed to 2013, and once again to 2015. The
lack of an adequate voter registry was a significant factor in both electoral postponements.
In the meantime, the presidential election, delayed since 2002, was held in 2010, and was the
first direct presidential election to be held in Somaliland. Prior to this, the president had been
selected by conferences of clan elders, beginning with the 1993 Borama Conference. Ahmed
Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo, from the Kulmiye party, succeeded Dahir Riyale Kahin, from
UDUB, in a relatively peaceful change of power. As noted in a report by Chatham House,
“Overall, Somaliland achieved an election and a transfer of power that many more established
democracies would struggle to emulate, and none in the Horn of Africa could match.”
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Riyale
had served as president of Somaliland since the death of President Muhammad Ibrahim Egal in
2002.
152
The six political associations to compete in the 2002 local council elections were UDUB, Kulmiye, UCID,
Sahan, Hormod and Asad.
153
Simkin, Paul, and Paul Crook, comps.
Report on the Somaliland Local Elections Held on 15 December 2002
.
Rep. N.p.: European Union, n.d. Print.
154
Walls, Michael, and Sally Healy.
Another Successful Election in Somaliland
. Issue brief. London: Chatham
House, 2010. Print.
