Opposition leader wins election in Somaliland

By Mohamed Amiin Adow, CNN

July 3, 2010 -- Updated 0225 GMT (1025 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Silanyo declared winner in Somaliland
• Won nearly half the vote
• Third party contesting the election

(CNN) -- The electoral commission in Somaliland, a breakaway republic in northwest Somalia, has declared Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo as the winner in the presidential election held recently, according to its chairman, Ise Yusuf Mohamed.

Silanyo's opposition Kulmiye Party won 49.59 of all votes cast while the party on the incumbent leader, Dahir Riyale Kahin, got 33.23 percent of the vote, the chairman said.

A third party contesting the election got 17.18 percent of the vote.

"This is an important election for the people of Somaliland; it is also a major step toward the democratization of the country," said Chairman Mohamed while announcing the results of the election in Hargiesa.

"The election was free and fair as witnessed by the international observers and this is a step that will lead to the recognition of the country," he said.

There were 1.09 million registered voters in the region of 3.5 million people.

International observers: Somaliland poll was fair

– Jun 28, 2010

HARGEISA, Somalia — A spokesman for a group of international observers says a recent presidential election in Somalia's northern breakaway region was free and fair.

Michael Walls says campaigns and polling in Somaliland were conducted in a peaceful and democratic manner. Walls says observers noted some irregularities such as misuse of public resources during the campaigns and that the media occasionally faltered in offering balanced coverage.

Incumbent Dahir Riyale Kahin is facing two challengers in Somaliland's second presidential poll since the region declared its independence in 1991. The region is a haven of relative peace in northwest Somalia with its own security and police forces, justice system and currency. It is not recognized by any other state.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Africa - Committee to Protect Journalists

Africa - Committee to Protect Journalists

Candle for Victims

Analysis: Somaliland poll fuels recognition hopes

IRIN Africa | Somaliland. FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010

Analysis: Somaliland poll fuels recognition hopes

HARGEISA, 25 June 2010 (IRIN) - As voters in Somaliland prepared to finally cast their ballots in a tight, oft-delayed presidential election on 26 June, there was one outcome for which almost everybody in the territory, regardless of political or clan affiliation, was rooting.

 Peaceful and well-conducted polls "will lead to international recognition of Somaliland", Mohamedrashid Sheikh Hassan, who is running for vice-president on the opposition Justice and Welfare Party (UCID) ticket, told IRIN.

 "The first task" of whoever wins "is getting international recognition. Everything else follows from there. Without it you cannot have development," said Said Ahmed Hassan, the president of Gollis University in Hargeisa.

 "It is difficult to do business without recognition, so the new government must strive for recognition so as to set up proper financial institutions which will ease a lot of transactions," said trader Khadar Ahmed.

 "My best hope is for a free, fair and transparent poll as the world is watching to see how Somaliland will hold its elections," said Mohamed-Rashid Muhumed Farah, a veteran journalist and chairman of the Saxafi Media Network.

 "If the poll is successful, this will inevitably lead to Somaliland's recognition by the international community," he added.

 Somaliland unilaterally declared its independence in 1991, but, despite its relative stability and the establishment of democratic institutions, it is still considered by the outside world to be part of Somalia.

 There is a degree of foundation for Somalilanders' optimism, according to E.J. Hogendorn, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, who noted that regional powerhouse Ethiopia recently upgraded the status of its consulate in Hargeisa to a "trade office".

 Recognition "is discussed at high levels in European circles, in [the UK's] House of Lords and the European Parliament, for example."

 "But there is a consensus that, if recognition were to occur, an African country would have to take the lead. If a major African state were to recognize Somaliland, pressure on others to do so would be significant, and could lead to a cascading effect," he said.

 Recognition reluctance

 The first international organization to extend recognition would have to be the African Union (AU). But the AU, noted Hogendorn, "is extremely nervous about setting a precedent of recognition for secession".

 Such recognition reluctance exists not only within the AU, but also elsewhere in Somalia, where many regard Somaliland as an integral part of the country.

 This is especially true of the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab, which has publicly called on Somalilanders to stay away from the polls. (The group is suspected of planning attacks designed to either disrupt the ballot or distract media attention from the election.)

 One close observer of the country's political scene said the assumption that a well-run election would boost chances of recognition were "fair" but that any development would likely be "an incremental process, rather than a one-off".

 One reason why these aspirations are unlikely to be satisfied in the immediate future is a fear that recognition would complicate efforts to put an end to the conflict ravaging south and central Somalia.

 A peaceful poll?

 This election was originally scheduled for April 2008. After numerous postponements, a bitter disagreement over the registration process almost degenerated into violence in 2009.

 A number of donor-funded measures, coupled with a sense that chaos would do the recognition cause no good, have helped to reduce the risk of unrest.

 There is a new election commission in place that enjoys the trust of all stakeholders. Political parties campaigned on alternating days so as to minimize confrontation. There has been a huge voter education campaign, involving religious leaders, elders, and NGOs. On election day itself, only polling officials and observers are permitted to travel by vehicle.

 "We are confident everything will go as planned," Commission spokesman Ahmed Hirsi told IRIN on 20 June.

 UCID's Hassan said: "I don't think anyone will try to rig it, but if that happens there are enough observers both local and international to call the culprits to account."

 There is widespread agreement that whoever wins, a clear margin and a graceful concession by the losers would help maintain calm.

 Riyale, who won a 2003 presidential election by a mere 80 votes at the head of the United People's Democratic Party (UDUB), appears ready to go quietly should things not go his way.

 "If UDUB loses, I am 100 percent sure we'll hand over power," his spokesman, Ali Mohamed Yusuf, told IRIN, insisting however that this outcome was unlikely.

 This election will resonate well beyond Somaliland itself, since democratic transitions of power are very rare in the Horn of Africa.

 "The election is carrying a huge burden of hope of Somali people [also in the Horn and the diaspora] for an alternative governance system, to show that another way is possible," said the political observer.

 "The stakes are very high," warned ICG's Hogendorn. "The election is quite likely to be very close and thus vote count will be very much contested. Close elections can prove to be very divisive, problematic and tense."

***
Presidential candidates

The incumbent Dahir Riyale Kahin leads the United People's Democratic Party (UDUB). Elevated from the vice-presidency in 2002 on the death of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal. Saw his presidency confirmed in a poll the following year by a margin of just 80 votes.

Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud, universally known as Silaanyo, leads the Development and Solidarity Party, or Kulmiye, and is considered the leader of the opposition. Served in various ministerial positions in Somalia before joining the armed opposition to Mohammed Siad Barre's government.

Faisal Ali "Warabe" of the Justice and Welfare party (UCID). An engineer who served as a senior civil servant in Barre's administration. UCID holds the third largest share of seats in the lower house of Somaliland's parliament.

Who's who in Somaliland politics:http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86169

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Somali government harassing journalists for NYT article

July 2, 2010 (Somalilandpress) —The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which promotes freedom of the press around the world, released report on the conditions of journalism in Southern Somalia. Increasing violence in the country has made for award winning journalists to work in Mogadishu like going on a suicide mission. Recently, New York Times’ reporters fled the country after publishing story about child soldiers in the ranks of the Somali military. This has been typical from Al-Shabaab and the Transitional Government. Each time there is a serious journalistic report about abuse or war crimes, journalists are threatened or jailed. Somalia is considered the most dangerous country for journalists in the world after Iraq, with 33 journalists killed since 1993. The most recent killing was in May, when gunmen shot Radio Mogadishu journalist Sheik Nur Mohamed Abkey outside his home in the capital.

The Somali government forces have been increasingly harassing independent journalists covering violent fighting in Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Somali reporters targeted for their reporting included a New York Timescorrespondent and a CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner, while nine other journalists were injured this week while reporting during deadly clashes between government troops and Islamist rebels, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

On Thursday, police detained award-winning journalist Mustafa Haji Abdinur and freelance cameraman Yusuf Jama Abdullahi for taking pictures of their colleague, Associated Press photojournalist Farah Abdi Warsame, who had been hit by crossfire, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). Officers at the Criminal Investigation Department interrogated the journalists for several hours and forced them to delete their photographs, Abdinur told CPJ. They were released without charge. Warsame was rushed to Medina Hospital for shrapnel wounds in his hand and back, and is now recovering at home, according to NUSOJ.

Last week, New York Times correspondent Mohammed Ibrahim fled the countryfollowing threats from government security forces, he told CPJ. Ibrahim had contributed reporting to a June 13 New York Times article, “Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally, Somalia,” concerning child soldiers within the government forces.

“The reaction of the Somali government to these very serious allegations is both frightening and typical,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes, who is based in Nairobi. “Instead of addressing this very serious issue, security forces are persecuting reporters. Journalists must be allowed to do their job.”

In response to the story, the deputy commander of the Somali military, Adbdulkarim Yusuf Adam, held a June 24 press conference in which he accused those involved in publishing the article of having ties with terrorist organizations, local journalists told CPJ.  Adam also declared that all individuals involved—whether foreign or local—would be taken to court, according to the same sources. Government spokesman Abdi Kadir Walayo claimed the article had been fabricated in a June 29 Voice of America interview.

Ibrahim said he received a warning from a friend while at a local restaurant last week that security forces were coming to arrest him, and later heard that more than 20 police officers came to the restaurant after he left. The journalist went into hiding and fled the country on June 26.

The government’s director of communications, Abdirashid Hashi, told CPJ that Ibrahim is “a good friend” and should contact him in order to settle the matter with the security forces.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom around the world.

Published on July 2nd, 2010