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.  

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.

Update on Somaliland's Postponed Parliamentary Elections

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) posted on 13 March 2019 a 12 minute podcast on Somaliland's parliamentary elections with Omar S. Mahmood, ISS Addis Ababa.

Mahmood concluded that Somaliland's two major political parties need to compromise to allow the oft-postponed parliamentary elections to move forward. Clan-based politics is making compromise difficult.

The Role of Election Observers in Somaliland

The Rift Valley Institute has just published a report titled "The Role of Election Observers in Somaliland" by Ayan Yusuf.

It is a record of a forum on 5 November 2017, before the actual election on 13 November. The forum focused on the international Election Observation Mission's assessment of the National Electoral Commission's preparation for the elections, the broader role observers play, and the methods they employ to fullfil that role.