Hargeysa, Somaliland, May 24, 2008 (SL Times) – President Riyale, unexpectedly, in a private meeting held last week at the presidency in Hargeysa met for the first time leaders of the opposition to resolve the current political standoff created by last month’s controversial decision by the Guurti (Upper House) to extend the president’s office of tenure for another 12 months from 15th May/08, the official date marking end of the president’s term in office, to May 2009.

The 3 party leaders, President Dahir Riyale Kahin (Udub), Ahmed M Silanyo (Kulmiye) and Faisal Ali Warabe (Ucid) discussions, according to undisclosed sources inside the presidential palace, centred on issues relating to the recently postponed presidential and municipal elections which were to take place in July/August this year but were postponed in April to take place at the end of the year.

The postponement of the elections was agreed upon by the National Election (NEC) Commission and the 3 national parties, Udub, Kulmiye and Ucid two days before the controversial Guurti extension of the president’s term was issued for another 12 months on 10th April. This action by the Guurti brought into disrepute the said election timetable which was scheduled to take place at end of the year by all stakeholders involved in the elections.

The opposition for some time have been demanding for Riyale to stand down once his presidential term in office comes to an end on 15 May and thereafter to form with the opposition a caretaker government which will run the affairs of the country right up to the coming presidential and municipal elections.

The opposition swore to not recognise the Guurti presidential extension term for another year and declared that from 15th May/08 that they will no longer recognise Riyale as the president of the country and will severe all collaboration with his government.

Last weeks meeting between Riyale and the leaders of the opposition, Kulmiye and Ucid parties, forestalled a new chapter of anticipated uncertainty and turmoil in the young republic’s political fortunes.

Only days before last Wednesday’s and Thursday’s (13/14 May) meeting between Riyale and the opposition, mediation efforts by the speaker of Somaliland’s lower house of parliament, Mr Abdirahman M Abdillahi had failed to bring the opposition and the president to resolve their political differences on the issues of the president’s term coming to an end, the 12 months Guurti extension of the president’s term of tenure and those issues relating to the postponed elections.

The same day the speaker of Somaliland’s lower house of parliament, Mr Abdirahman M Abdillahi reported back to parliament on failing to mediate and bring the opposition and the president to hold dialogue, in a BBC Somali world service radio interview, president Riyale commenting on the breakdown of the speaker’s mediation efforts said that “he is in no position to make any compromises with the opposition when it comes to the 12 months" which the Guurti extended his presidential term in office, which was coming to an end last Thursday (15 May), to May 2009.

One political figure, close to Riyale’s administration in Hargeysa who preferred to be kept anonymous, put it that “Riyale and his government, after much hesitation was the one who discreetly requested the opposition to hold talks with the government. The president’s invitation for talks with the opposition was delivered in the form of the minister of Finance, Awil Ali Duale, making an after dark courtesy call on the private residences of Silanyo and Warabe on Wednesday night (last week) and informed them of the president’s change of heart to have dialogue with them. And this (the meeting) took place, immediately, on the same night the minister visited the opposition.”

Asked what was behind Riyale’s sudden change of heart to resolve this crisis by holding talks with the opposition, the undisclosed source said, “the government knows too well that it stands on the feet and legs of a confederation of clans and that it cannot support itself, as yet, without the full cooperation of these clans, i.e, the opposition’s sphere of influence among the clans extends to much of the country and therefore [government] cannot afford to alienate any clans in an election year”, said the political figure close to Riyale’s government circles.

Riyale & Opposition Agree

The third meeting to take place between the president and the opposition since last week was suppose to take place on Monday but was cancelled for unknown reasons. The following day, Tuesday/20 May, the president and all top party officials of Udub, Kulmiye and Ucid and the NEC converged in the presidency to find a political solution to the current political crises that have been unfolding in the country for much of the year.

To everyone’s surprise, the three political parties along with representatives of the NEC reached a consensus on a new timeline for the postponed presidential and municipal elections. According to the deputy chairman of Kulmiye, Muse Bihi, a new time fixture has been agreed upon by all three political parties and the NEC, these are 15th Dec/08 for the municipal elections and 15th March/09 for the presidential elections.

Among other things, those issues agreed upon by all the parties, according to Bihi who held a press conference soon after coming out of the meeting with Riyale said that “we [the opposition parties], the NEC and the government, apart from the election timetable, its been agreed that":-

1. The government, opposition and the NEC will motion the lower House of Representatives for a change in Election Law clause which stipulates a 6 month gap between the two elections, the presidential and municipal elections. So, that the agreed election timeline conforms to the Election Law.

2. A guarantee that the agreed election timetable will not be postponed, with exceptions, brought upon by natural calamities or unexpected/foreseeable circumstances, i.e, non-political related.

3. A guarantee which will ensure parliament (Guurti) will not meddle/change in the affairs/timetables of the all party agreed accords and those of the NEC.

4. Surety that Guurti will not extend another presidential term.

Bihi, emphasized in the press conference that the matter of the Guurti presidential term extension was not discussed during their meetings with the government but said that it was agreed in the next line of meetings scheduled to take place between the opposition and the president that it will be on the agenda.

The deputy chairman of Kulmiye stressed that the meetings which have so far been held with the president worked on only the issue of the election and its timetable and that in the next phase of the talks, the issue regarding the president’s end of term and the Guurti extension to this term will be their main agenda on the table.

“Clearly we have not agreed or compromised our opposition to the Guurti extension and still, we hold this view that the Guurti extension of the president’s term in office is not valid and cannot legalise the president’s tenure which expired last week. Nor, has the other camp [president] stopped arguing that it sees this extension by the Guurti as legitimate.

Nonetheless, we both have to come to some middle ground in order to avert a major political meltdown between the opposition and the government of this country.

This much we know,” said the deputy chairman of Kulmiye in last Wednesday’s press conference called by Kulmiye soon after concluding with Ucid, the meeting with Riyale in the presidency.

Source: Somaliland Times