Hamza S. Yusuf
A new dawn under the Kulmiye Party is coming. In the streets, the countryside, the houses, and the hamlets; amongst the everyday people, the traders, the businessmen/women, and the farmers there is a true sense of expectation in the air. A seed has been planted. Belief in themselves, belief in their democratic right to vote, a palpable taste of a different, forward looking, corruption-free, gender neutral, developed Somaliland is in the air. Support for the Kulmiye Party is at an all time high and continuing to grow. Thousands of people turn out at every party function. This is not hyperbole but fact.
The UDUB party is not the solid Corinthian column its name suggests but rather a convergence point of highly different political entities and individuals who share not a single ideological mantra but are held together by other forces, namely, money and political expediency. With all the advantages that being a party in power would confer, they have not been able to convince us, the people of Somaliland, of a single achievement under the Rayaale administration. Not a single one. Yes there has been peace following the death of Egal but that has nothing to do with Riyaale and UDUB but everything to do with the political maturity and restraint of the people of Somaliland.
At the recent Kulmiye Party reception in Washington D.C, some of the most senior figures in the United States with respect to African affairs were present. Amongst them, Mr. John Prendgrast, Director of African Affairs at the National Security Council and Mr. Ted Dange from the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. These very powerful men wanted to lend their support to the Presidential candidate, Ahmed Silanyo (a man whom they know very well) and a Party that they saw that could do justice and honour to the aspirations and needs of the people of Somaliland.
The vast majority of people of Somaliland are for the Kulmiye Party and the international political world trust the leadership of the Kulmiye Party. It is becoming more and more obvious that unless UDUB literally steals this election, they will loose and they will loose BIG.
As Ahmed Silanyo has reiterated time and time again, the peace and stability of this nation precedes everything. Consequently, we know he will accept the results regardless. Such is the nature of true leaders and the worth of this one. But, we the people of Somaliland WILL NOT be robbed of our democratic right to elect our chosen leaders. We must continue being visible, we must come out by the thousands and we must make our voices heard. They can’t silence a million voices.
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