Election Issues in Somaliland

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 10 November 2022 a statement titled "Overcoming Somaliland's Worsening Political Crisis."

The ICG believes Somaliland's hard-earned stability is at risk.  The government and political opposition disagree on the sequencing of two upcoming elections.  The presidential election has been delayed and both it and the one to license the three political parties that will be allowed to participate are mired in schedule-related controversy.  

Stress Test for Somaliland's Democracy

 The Heinrich Boll Stiftung published on 27 June 2022 an analysis titled "Stress Test for Somaliland's Democracy" by Ulf Terlinden and Mohamed Ibrahim.  

Differences over plans to reshuffle Somaliland's licensed political parties and the sequencing of elections raise questions over the electoral calendar.

Somaliland's Followup after Successful Elections

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 12 August 2021 an analysis titled "Building on Somaliland's Successful Elections." 

Although long delayed, Somaliland held successful elections in May and August.  The ICG argues, however, that there must be renewed efforts to  include under-represented communities going forward.

Somaliland's Secession from Somalia

The Palgrave Series in African Borderland Studies published in 2019 Secessionism in African Politics with a chapter titled "Against the Grain: Somaliland's Secession from Somalia" by Markus Virgil Hoehne, University of Leipzig.

The author argues that Somaliland's secession from Somalia did not follow careful cost-benefit calculations or involve the bargaining of a minority with a majority in power or a center. Rather, the unilateral declaration of independence of Somaliland was the unforeseen result of an anti-regime struggle.

Postponing Somaliland's Elections

The Institute for Security Studies posted on 19 March 2019 a comment titled "Somaliland's Fragile Democracy Faces More Election Delays" by Omar S. Mahmood.

Elections for Somaliland's Lower House of Parliament and the local councils scheduled for this month have been postponed to December for technical and political reasons.

Somaliland's New President

World Politics Review published on 1 December 2017 an analysis titled "Can Somaliland's New President Steer It Toward International Recognition?" by Megan Iacobini de Fazio, a freelance writer based in East Africa.

Following the recent election of Somaliland's new president, Musa Bihi Abdi, the author noted that he is seen as a strong leader who will uphold the rule of law and fight corruption. Despite its challenges, Somaliland has made strides in establishing a stable, peaceful and relatively functional proto-state. But the author adds Bihi will have to demonstrate that he is capable of moving beyond a narrow definition of democratic success in order to make Somaliland more inclusive and equal for all its citizens.

Somaliland Stands Out in East Africa

The Economist published on 13 November 2017 a commentary titled "Why Somaliland Is East Africa's Strongest Democracy." While acknowledging flaws in Somaliland, the article compares the country's democracy favorably to all of its neighbors.

Somaliland's Upcoming Election

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 25 October 2017 an analysis titled "High Stakes for Somaliland's Presidential Elections" by Omar S. Mahmood, ISS, and Mohamed Farah, director of the Academy for Peace and Development in Somaliland.

The analysis covers Somaliland's presidential elections scheduled for 13 November 2017, which come as the country faces pivotal political and security issues.

Somaliland: The Strains of Success

The International Crisis Group published on 5 October 2015 an analysis titled "Somaliland: The Strains of Success." 

The study concludes that Somaliland's hybrid system of tri-party democracy and traditional clan-based governance has enabled the consolidation of state-like authority, social and economic recovery and, above all, relative peace and security but now needs reform.  While Somaliland has remained largely committed to democratic government, elections are increasingly fraught.  Now that elections are postponed, the government and its international supporters must find ways to support greater dialogue between political parties and key interest groups, particularly parliament's upper House of Elders (the Guurti) and the business community, or risk further fragmentation of authority. 

Somaliland's House of Elders Creates Political Crisis

The International Crisis Group published on 21 May 2015 an analysis titled "Somaliland's Guurti Sparks a Crisis" by Cedric Barnes and Claire Elder.  The Guurti or House of Elders announced a two-year extension of the current government's term, including further postponement of the presidential and parliamentary elections due this June.  The announcement prompted widespread protests.

Rethinking State-building in Somalia

The Rift Valley Institute published a summary of a forum it held in Nairobi on 6 December 2012 titled Rethinking State-building in Somalia: Negotiated Statehood and the Realities of Hybrid Governance.

The key points are:
--The concept of a hybrid political order is useful in understanding post-conflict state formation, in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere.
--For policy-makers supporting the reestablishment of government institutions in Somalia, the example of Somaliland is instructive.
--Hybrid political orders are not an alternative model for state-building; they are the outcome of a process of negotiated statehood and a reality to acknowledge and work with.
--State-building is not simply a legal and technical undertaking but a process of negotiation that occurs in an acutely political context.
--In Somaliland, the role of elders in relation to the state has changed: the authority of the House of Elders has diminished as formal institutions of the state have become more established and powerful.