17
curve.”
14
In addition to pre-election capacity building and support to the administration of
electoral processes, the international community was active in the observation of the 2002 poll.
Progressio, then the Catholic Institute for International Relations/International Cooperation for
Development, fielded a small international observation mission in 2002.
15
Subsequently,
Progressio fielded observation missions to monitor Somaliland’s elections in 2003, 2005, 2010
and 2012.
2003 Presidential Election
In advance of the April 2003 presidential election, funding from USAID and NED to IRI to
provide capacity-building and elections programming to Somaliland’s three political parties
16
continued, as did funding to War-Torn Societies Project International to support the Academy
for Peace and Development to serve as a moderator between electoral stakeholders. In 2003,
the Academy for Peace and Development implemented election monitoring programming by
training party poll agents and deploying domestic observers.
17
Given the timing and sensitive
political nature of Somaliland’s presidential election within the broader Somalia context, the
European Commission did not provide financial or programmatic support to the 2003 election
as it did in 2002. Some individual European Commission member states did provide support
for technical assistance and voter education initiatives, and DFID provided support to finance
the electoral process.
18
The presidential election was held on April 14, 2003 with international
and domestic election observers present from South Africa, Ethiopia, Sweden, Norway,
Holland, Canada and the United Kingdom.
19
2005 Parliamentary Elections
In the interim period between elections, international support for democracy and governance
programming in Somaliland waned, but some ongoing support continued through implementing
partners such as Interpeace and IRI, and NED provided direct support to local organizations.
Parliamentary elections were initially planned to follow the 2003 presidential election within a
year; however, due to internal disagreement over issues such as the allocation of geographical
representation of parliamentary seats, constituency boundaries and the voter registry,
Somaliland’s first parliamentary elections were postponed to September 15, 2005.
20
The
international community viewed the conduct of parliamentary elections as “vital for the stability
of the state of Somaliland…and the chances of failure - or flawed or irregular elections, which
would betray the trust of the voting public - were much greater than during the [2003]
presidential election.”
21
As such, significant international donor support was provided to the
14
Jhazbhay, Iqbal D.
Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition
.
Johannesburg: Institute for Global Dialogue/South African Institute of International Affairs, 2009. Print, p. 51.
15
Progressio,
Further Steps to Somaliland
, p. 4-5.
16
The United Democratic Party (UDUB), Kulmiye and the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID) became Somaliland’s
three official political parties following the December 2002 local elections.
17
Democracy in Somaliland: Challenges and Opportunities
. Rep. Hargeysa: Academy for Peace and
Development/Interpeace, 2010. Print, p. 2.
18
Bradbury, Mark.
Becoming Somaliland
. Oxford: James Currey, 2008. Print, p. 190. Also, see
A new donor
approach to fragile societies: the case of Somaliland
, ODI.
19
Bradbury, Mark.
Becoming Somaliland
. Oxford: James Currey, 2008. Print, p. 194.
20
Ibid, p. 202-204.
21
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, p. 6.
