The people of Somaliland will vote on Monday in parliamentary and local elections and highlight progress in the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, which over the years has avoided the destructive violence that afflicts other parts of the country in the Horn of Africa.
More than 1 million of Somaliland’s 4 million people are registered voters. The region has invited international observers to the election, including politicians from elsewhere in Africa.
Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 when the country collapsed in war-torn conflict. Despite its lack of international recognition, Somaliland has maintained its own independent government, currency and security system.
John Githongo, an anti-corruption campaigner from Kenya who is in Somalia’s capital Hargeisa, as an observer, in a Twitter post described the region as “the one that Somalia with a democracy from the bottom up that seems to function organically.”
Greg Mills, head of a South Africa-based group that follows the polls, said in a statement that the semi-autonomous region “represents an example of an African country committed to democracy and development and deserves the support of every African who wants to see progress on this continent.” . ”
Somalia considers Somaliland as part of its territory.
Several rounds of talks about a possible association have not succeeded in achieving a breakthrough and the region continues to assert its right to independence.
Somaliland’s relative stability over the years has sharpened the sense of failure in Somalia, where deadly attacks by extremists are often reported.
Elections to be held there in February could not take place due to a lack of agreement on how the vote should be conducted. Talks between Somalia’s federal government and regional leaders that began in March broke down in early April, triggering a political crisis that deepened as Parliament’s lower house passed a special law extending the terms of current officials for two years and abandoning an agreement last year.
The decision sparked widespread opposition, leading to the mobilization of militias, exposing divisions within Somali security forces and resulting in violent clashes on April 25.
Following the clashes, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed earlier this month asked the lower house of parliament to reverse his actions, which included extending his term for two years.
Somalia announced last week that federal authorities had reached an agreement with regional leaders to hold indirect elections within 60 days.
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