Tag: elections

WINNERS AND LOSERS IN FGS-FMSs SUMMIT

People of Somalia came back from the brink of abyss involving potential re-ignition of flames of civil strive and civil war. Luckily, they are winners with the successful conclusion of this Summit at Mogadishu Aviation Hangar (Avizione) today.
The system of federalism resisting the return to dictatorship and restoration of city-state in Somalia is a winner too. For the consolidation of the modest gains of federalism, it is a turning point of no return. No Somali leader would ever attempt to unravel decentralization of Somali central governance.

Puntland state of Somalia led the way to restrain Farmajo’s coup attempt to overthrow the federal institutions. President Deni of Puntland is a therefore a winner today, while President Madobe of Jubaland got a much needed relief from Farmajo’s military and political pressure with regards to Gedo issue.

The Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Federal Parliament, Abdi Hashi, came from the cold and political isolation imposed on him by Farmajo’s attempt to marginalize representatives of the Federal Member States.

Representatives of international community and foreign missions accredited to Somalia got a break from the pressure of the Somalia’s electoral impasse. They can now justify the expenditures from their tax-payers’ money spent on resolving Somalia’s political quagmire, and sustaining the fledgling Federal Government of Somalia.

The Team of Farmajo, presidents Qoor Qoor of Galmudugh, Guudlaawe of Hirshabelle and Laftagreen of Southwest are losers, with Farmajo and Qoor Qoor losing all credibilities as politicians in the eyes of the Somali general public and international community.

Now that the electoral impasse has been resolved, the hard work of holding peaceful, free and fair elections is about to begin.

At the conclusion of Somali leader’s Summit at Mogadishu Aviation Hangar today

CEREMONY: MOGADISHU AIRPORT SUMMIT

POSITIVE MEDIA ITEM FROM UNEXPECTED SOURCE

1P1V IN PUNTLAND

They say wherever the USA state of Iowa goes in an election, so goes the rest of the country. Is it equally true that wherever the State of Puntland goes, so goes Somalia?

Puntland State of Somalia was created in 1998 as the first pillar for the foundation of the 2nd Somali Republic. The establishment of other Federal Member States followed suit. Puntland sponsored the federal system of governance in Somalia, and rest of the country, region by region, followed suit. Other member states had adopted Puntland Constitution, replacing only the name of Puntland with their respective names of the state like Galmudugh State of Somalia, Southwest State of Somalia, Hirshabelle State of Somalia and Jubaland State of Somalia. There is nothing wrong in modeling after successful enterprise. Human progress and experiences indicate similar copycat modeling. People follow the leader.

We have been saying all along that One Person One Vote (1P1V) wouldn’t happen in Somalia until Puntland showed the way. It is happening now with pilot vote registrations in Puntland towns of Eyl (Nugaal Region), Qardho (Karkaar Region) and Uffayn (Bari or Bareeda Region). If successful, all the rest of Puntland towns will follow this vote registration lead. This vote registration would be the first critical phase for general elections for state presidency and House of people’s Representatives. By experience, the rest of Somalia will follow Puntland experiment in democracy post-Civil War.
Stay tuned.
Have your say.

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Elder registered to vote in Puntland

WHY MOST SOMALI POLITICAL MEETINGS FAIL

Experiences have shown that most Somali meetings end up in failure for the simple reason of putting the cart before the horse – they address the elephant in the room first, before they deliberate on and agree upon the principles and setup of a system under which they would operate.

What is that elephant in the room? It is leadership. For successful talks, leadership should be treated as blank spaces to fill in at conclusion. Starting with a leadership contest is a recipe for collapse of the meeting, based on Somali experience – any conference that started with leadership competition had failed. Formation of Federal Member States didn’t start with leadership rivalry – this came up much later in the deliberations.

Enter the National Consultative Summit now taking place at Mogadishu Afysione. Some observers are already worried. They see jockeying for power is now underway. This is on the top of the issues in the electoral impasse begging for quick resolutions. However, fierce campaigns for presidential aspiration are overshadowing the objectives of the Summit – bridging the gaps in the electoral process.

Prime Minister Roble was enjoying a modicum of unity from Hawiye Presidential Candidates until now, for the fear that their disunity helps Farmajo’s chances. But, Farmajo knows full well that Hawiye unity is fake, and he is working day and night to sow seeds of doubt and disarray in the ranks and file of Hawiye Co. Farmajo’s proxies like Qoor Qoor are already busy blasting clannish bombshells within Hawiye in a series of highly loaded tribal dinners and meetings, on the sideline in Mogadishu. These tribally charged meetings by Sacad politicians would act as harbinger for what is coming up in retaliation by other sub-clans of Habargidir, to be followed by similar fragmentations of Mudullood Hawiye. These are bad omens for the electoral process.

One thing is sure, however, collapse of this Summit isn’t an option. No matter how going gets taugh, Somalis and international community wouldn’t allow this to happen this time around. There is no room for failure. The sticking issues in the electoral process should be resolved quickly and in this session.

Stay tuned for more comments and critical analysis.
In the meantime, have your say.

SOMALI INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ON IT

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PRIME MINISTER’S INDEPENDENCE FROM FARMAJO QUESTIONED

SO FAR, MOHAMED HUSSEIN ROBLE AS PRIME MINISTER WAS NOT IMPRESSIVE

Let us give him the benefit of the doubt, and wish him every success in making through to the elections. It is true Somalis have little patience for slow delivery of public services, but they are equally good in giving a politician a chance to prove himself/ herself – not for a long time, though.

Sor far, Roble was careful not to outshine his boss, conceding his constitutional executive powers to Farmajo. Keeping a low profile may have saved him politicaly until now, on the one hand, while that might not have earned him leadership points he needs for a successful future political career, on the other hand.

It is now about time he shows leadership based on fair judgement, consensus building and political maturity. Any politician who becomes hostage to his/her immediate clan constituency cannot develop national leadership score and will not be able to lead by positive example. Mohamed Hussein Roble is now on the spotlight and will not be able to hide behind Farmajo as he has been doing since his appointment as prime minister. Good luck! They said the taste of pudding is in the eating. It is to be seen how Roble will handle, reconcile and synchronise a) Farmajo interference b) Ambitions of the Council of presidential candidates c) Puntland and Jubaland complaints against the Federal Government.

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Puntland Elections

Flag of Puntland since 23rd December 2009 http...
Flag of Puntland since 23rd December 2009 http://horseedmedia.net/2009/12/puntland-parlaiment-adopts-new-flag/ Deutsch: Flagge Puntlands seit 23. Dezember 2009 http://horseedmedia.net/2009/12/puntland-parlaiment-adopts-new-flag/ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Puntland State suspends scheduled local elections. It is a serious setback for all concerned and bad news for democratization process. I hope it is a tactical retreat and not shutting the doors to democracy. The so-called opposition leaders want to maintain the status quo for years to come. They don’t know anything better. That explains their resistance to multi-party political competitions.

The Government too approaches and conducts multi-party system under suspicious manners, acting and running like a one-party fashion, compelling all officials under its influence to adhere and be loyal to the Ruling Party. This plays counter to democratic principles and freedom of choice. The Government handling of the process is full of conflicts of interest. This is one of the main reasons as to why the process hit a dead-end and loss of lives. They were not listening to those, who have enough experience on the political reality on the ground in Puntland State of Somalia. Absence of dialogue is never conducive to democratic space. This is core of the problem. My way or the highway position will not fly in Puntland. One should share ideas, solicit for ideas and consult with sincere patriots and time-tested traditional leadership.

Now it is time for the Government to start restoring trust among key players and have ample time for dialogue to build consensus, moving the political process forward. Massive media information, education on the importance of democracy, citizens’ rights and obligations, freedom of individual choice and community awareness are required. To make the right individual election choices, citizens must be informed beyond the sub-clan interests.

At moment, both sides of the debate are trying, in their own excuses and pretext, to stifle democracy. They may succeed for a short period of time, but cannot arrest the political trend in the country and expectation of world community, if Puntland was to survive as a federate State of a Federal Somalia.

Donor Community Re-ngages Puntland Parties to Commit themselves to Holding Elections

Garowe, Puntland-Following the disagreements between the Puntland Government and the Transitional Electoral Commissions on one side and political associations on the other, on holding planned local elections in Puntland in a fair and transparent manner, or if you would, setting up a consensus platform for the rules of the road, resulting in the announcement of election boycott by UDAD, Midnimo and PDP parties, the Donor Community providing funds and technical expertise on Puntland elections, gets worried and started re-engaging parties to move the democratization process forward, according to reliable local and international sources. This is good news for Puntland and its voters to participate actively in a rare democratic process that will see inhabitants deciding the destiny of their country and an opportunity to install the government of their own making and accountable only to them. It is extremely the most important political development in the short history of Puntland and must be hailed as such.

If elections are held as planned in June of this year, based on the provisions of the Puntland Democratization Roadmap, Puntland State is set to come out of the woods and political stagnation it has been stuck throughout its existence. The Donor Community is doing a remarkable job to prevent political chaos and misuse of Donor funds, state power and resources to influence the elections’ outcome.

It is extremely important for all parties, including Puntland authorities and political associations to work with the Donor Community in this regard, for if this process fails, it will have a dramatic impact on the viability of Puntland as a Federated State in a now Federal Somalia. Fair and transparent elections are critically required to preserve the unity, peace and continuation of Puntland as the first pillar and champion of federalism in Somalia. Failure to set the example right will definitely have crucial negative influence at national level, raising renewed questions on suitability of Somalia for Federal system of governance. All Puntland stakeholders of the planned elections must be warned, advised and be very careful in moving the Democratization fairly and honestly forward.