Somaliland presidential election, 2010

Somaliland presidential election, 2010

26 June, 2010

Nominee Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo Dahir Riyale Kahin Faysal Ali Warabe Party KULMIYE UDUB UCID Running mate Abdirahman Saylici Ahmed Yusuf Yasin Mohammad Rashid Popular vote 266,906 178,881 92,459 Percentage 49.59 33.23 17.18

President of Somaliland before election Dahir Riyale Kahin UDUB Elected President of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo KULMIYE

Somaliland
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Somaliland
Constitution Constitution
Government President (list) Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo Vice-President Abdirahman Saylici Cabinet
Parliament House of Elders Chairman: Suleiman Mahmud Adam House of Representatives Speaker: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi
Administrative divisions Regions of Somaliland
Elections Presidential: 2010 2015 Parliamentary: 2005 2015 Political parties Politicians
Foreign relations UNPO Puntland–Somaliland dispute List of representative offices of Somaliland List of diplomatic missions in Somaliland
See also
Politics of Somalia
Other countries Atlas Politics portal

A presidential election was held on 26 June 2010 in Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The election was originally scheduled for August 2008, but was marred by numerous delays, seriously endangering political stability in the territory. On 1 July 2010, the Somaliland National Election Commission announced that opposition candidate Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo had won the presidential election, defeating incumbent President Dahir Riyale Kahin.^[1]

Background

The elections were originally scheduled for 31 August 2008,^[2] but the instability in the eastern Sanaag and Sool regions led the Guurti to extend the incumbent's term for a year in early April 2008,^[3] setting the election for 15 March 2009.^[4] This was heavily criticised by the opposition -- in the end, a compromise led to the date of 6 April 2009,^[5] which was later changed to one week before that (29 March). On 3 March, it was announced that the elections were postponed by two more months, to be held on 31 May.^[6]

On 6 September 2009, the electoral commission announced that the election could not be held on the day planned, 27 September, due to "current political, economic and technical conditions". A new date was not announced.^[7] President Dahir Riyale Kahin subsequently asked the Guurti for yet another term extension since it would expire on 29 September, but was denied this.^[8] On 28 September however, it was reported that on a second vote, the term extension was granted, provided that the government adheres to a six-point proposal to organise the next elections.

Somaliland politicians then expected the election to be held in January 2010 at the earliest.^[9] Later, April 2010 was mentioned, but it soon became clear this date would also be missed.^[10] The elections were then expected for June 2010, as the preparations for the elections were underway. The first ballot boxes for the election arrived from Denmark on 19 April, and new voter registration cards will be issued from the second week of May. Somaliland's electoral commission backed a June election on 28 April 2010, stating the voters list had been updated and now contains 1.1 million people.^[11]

Conduct

After a two-year delay, voting for the presidential elections finally took place in late June 2010. A team of international observers led by Progressio, a UK-based development agency (formerly known as the Catholic Institute for International Relations) that has long been an advocate for independence movements, described the process as "free and fair".^[12][13]

The International Republican Institute asserted that "Somaliland’s election was peaceful, without major incident and generally met international standards. Hundreds of thousands of Somalilanders turned out to vote in their fourth election, and although wanting international recognition, did not wait to continue to build their nascent democracy. The international community should credit such democratic progress and the example it sets for others."^[14]

However, the Puntland-based Garowe Online reported the elections had been marred by vote-buying attempts, and several deaths in the disputed eastern Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions.^[15]

Results

The Somaliland National Election Commission announced the results on 1 July 2010, the fiftieth anniversary of independence from Britain.^[16] They showed that Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo had won the presidential election with just under 50% of the vote,^[1] defeating incumbent president Dahir Riyale Kahin, who received 33%.^[1]

Aftermath

After the results were announced, Kahin congratulated Silanyo and reiterated that he would step down. Silanyo was sworn in on 27 July at a ceremony.

References

External links

• Somaliland National Electoral Commission

Elections and referendums in Somaliland Presidential elections 2003 2010 2015 Parliamentary elections 1960 2005 2015 Referendums 2001