61
The
Guurti
: Legal Framework and its Limitations
While the constitution established the bicameral parliament, there are various laws governing
elections to the respective chambers. The House of Representatives election law (Law No: 20-
2/2005) deals with the direct election of 82 members of the House of Representatives and is the
subject of considerably less discussion than the legal basis for the election of the
Guurti
, for
which there have been various versions of bills proposing direct or indirect elections. Currently,
there is no law governing the election/selection of the
Guurti
, with the constitution being
unclear on this issue. Sections of the constitution state that the
Guurti
is to be elected, while
other articles suggest the contrary. Article 58 (1) of the constitution states: “The members of
the House of Elders shall be elected in a manner to be determined by law.” Article 62, however,
suggests that members are selected rather than elected, stating: “The inaugural meeting of the
House of Elders shall take place within 30 days of the date when their selection is completed.
The meeting shall be opened by the chairman of the Supreme Court who shall administer the
oath of office, and shall then be chaired by the oldest member of the house (in age) until the
election of the official speaker of the house and his two deputies.”
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As a result of this lack of clarity, the current members of the
Guurti
have had their term
extended three times since being indirectly elected for a six-year term at the grand conference of
the Somaliland communities in 1997. The last House of Elders election bill, proposing direct
election of members was passed by the House of Representatives on September 16, 2006 with
34 voting for and 30 against. The two opposition parties supported the proposal, though civil
society groups were in support of indirect elections. The bill was then considered on September
23, 2006, and rejected by two-thirds of
Guurti
members. As a result of this stalemate, the term
of the existing
Guurti
was extended by another 4 years.
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This term was again extended in
2010.
In relation to these concerns, there exists a widespread perception that the
Guurti
has become
politicized; aligned with the government of the day and therefore leading to a marginalization of
the House of Representatives. The extension of the
Guurti’s
mandate beyond peace-building
and conflict resolution between clans is described by an interviewee as having “transformed”
the
Guurti
into a government-supporting chamber.
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2005 Elections – House of Representatives
The first direct elections to the House of Representatives were held in September 2005, having
been postponed from their original date in 2003. These elections have been described as “not
only the final stage in Somaliland’s laborious transition from clan-based power-sharing to
multiparty politics, but – in a very real sense – the arrival of a competitive, democratic electoral
culture in the country.”
100
97
The Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland (Republic of Somaliland 2001). Print.
98
The previous two term extensions for members of the
Guurti
were based on a resolution of the House of
Representatives.
99
Interview, member of parliament.
100
A Vote for Peace: How Somaliland Successfully Hosted Its First Parliamentary Elections in 35 Years
. Rep.
Hargeisa: Academy for Peace and Development/Interpeace, 2006. Print.
