Somalia’s northern breakaway region, Somaliland, has postponed its long-awaited parliamentary and local council elections.
The National Electoral Commission announced on Thursday, August 8th that the scheduled November election has been postponed, indefinitely.
Why Was The Election postponed?
The electoral commission cited “technical, political and legal reasons” for the cancellation, following disagreements over the composition of the electoral commission and how seats in the parliament should be shared among the regions.
The electoral law, which should define the composition of the commission, remains a draft as it is yet to be passed by parliament. Although the three political parties met and made an agreement in order to end the election stalemate, it was rejected by members of the parliament.
Somaliland Standard noted: “Members of the parliament elected from Sool, Awdal and eastern Sanaag walked away from the session of the parliament when the agreement of the parties was tabled. They protested over seat allocation.”
Following the parliamentary session, opposition leader, Hirsi Ali Haji Hassan, announced that his party, Wadani had withdrawn from the agreement.
Implications
The elections are already long overdue. The last time parliamentary and local council elections were held was in 2005 and 2012, respectively. Both have a term length of five years.
There are allegations that parliament members are stalling the elections and employing delay tactics in order to stay in power. The House of Elders, the upper house of parliament made of traditional leaders which are chosen indirectly by local communities, have the exclusive right to extend term lengths. Reports suggest that they are likely to further extend the term of the current House of Representatives, delaying the elections by a year or more.
Despite declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland is still only recognised, internationally, as an autonomous region of Somalia. The region has faced criticism for its frequent postponement of elections.
