Democracy Requires A Responsible Government

By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib, Borama, Awdal
Within a democracy those who govern must be accountable and responsible to those whom they govern. The power to govern derives from the electors and they must be given the opportunity to choose between the present system and the favored alternative. One function of the institutions like the political parties and the parliament is to represent the electors and to call the governments to account for its acts and justify the decisions taken unilaterally that constitutionally require a consensual decision making and the acts that are unjustified. If this mess continues it will eventually threaten the integrity of the administration.
The country now entered the worst crisis and the president categorically refused to sign the agreement that have been worked out by the arbitration committee opening the door for more confusion and chaos. The effective ways of handling a crisis is a communication plan. This plan gives you the process you need to deal effectively with the unusual events that may cause unfavorable publicity.
It is important to place the public interest ahead of the interest of the individual. The people should know the details of the agreement that have been reached. Accepting the agreement verbally and refusing to sign do not correlate and shows that the administration is not faithful and follows a policy of double standards.
With my due respect to the president I am sorry to say that the statement made by the president did not address that the crisis is over and his statement escalated the problem further. The public statements of the president need to be screened before it goes on the air and any off thought and offensive comments expunged.
This speech showed animosity and separation towards the opposition parties and their leaders. This is what divided the society and hampered the trust and co-existence between the people. Though the opposition parties were denied to contest and the election postponed twice in a row without good reason, they showed restrain and mobilized their supporters to act responsibly and refrain from any wrong doing that can de-rail peace when demonstrating.
If the rights of the people to decide in the ballot box to elect the leaders they want is denied the present administration will be held responsible. Patience has limitations and the people will not accept any more foul plays in future.
The millennium marks an age of globalization. The technology advanced tremendously and the world live in one village. The statement issued by the international community that they are very much concerned means in the diplomatic language that they want the administration to make their house in order. This administration has been advised many times to make their records straight in terms of social justice, good governance, financial discipline, gender balance and curb corruption.
18th May the national day of Somaliland was politicized and looked this year like a campaign trail for the ruling party and its leaders. In this respect the administration is not acting responsibly and violated the agreement that all the parties to be equal to the government owned media. In this respect this widened the gap and the already soaring relations between the opposition parties and the government. There may be unexpected circumstances and differing points of view at the negotiating table. The administration is required to show tolerance and flexibility so that the parties agree in principle at the end.
It is incumbent to the administration to design a message that is hard hitting and acceptable to the people and respect their opponents. They must argue positions and not personalities. Slipping into the other person’s shoes will be particularly critical to quality decision making. The president should create an atmosphere of understanding between the negotiating parties to work together cooperatively recognizing how roles and responsibilities enter act and link with each other and all performing with one goal in mind that the elections to be held on time and sign the agreement.
The president should think ahead, anticipate unexpected changes that may arise, consider the impact of change and develop appropriate responses. The only option acceptable this time is to hold the elections on time. The price of any more miscalculations will cost the country a high price.

 

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