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Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 18,
2009 – Somaliland’s major financial donors said on Tuesday, they have
halted financing Somaliland’s democratization process and threatened to
completely cut off election funding unless the “incompetent and corrupt”
election commissioners are replaced immediately.
Sources close to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) say the donors
insisted for the last two months that they would not release any
additional funds until the entire or some members of the NEC are
replaced. Both the president and major political parties had been
informed about this, sources added.
However, the major political parties have different political views on
this contentious issue. UDUB and KULMIYE are opposed to the idea of
replacing the commissioners at this late stage but for different
reasons.
KULMIYE officials are wary of the replacement partly because the
presidential election is just around the corner and partly because any
replacement at this stage might cause potential delays to the election
that would almost certainly trigger another presidential term extension
for president Rayale.
UDUB, the ruling party, will have much to gain from the presidential
election delay and would like to see the donors to freeze the funding
altogether, analysts believe.
UCID party, however, fully supports the donors’ position and would like
to see the entire election commissioners replaced.
The disagreement between the three parties on this issue led the donors
to threaten the complete withdrawal of funding to the presidential
election unless their conditions are fully met by the government and all
parties concerned.
Frustrated Somalilanders however are increasingly concerned that this
will be a major stumbling block to the much-awaited presidential
election planned for 27 September if the donors carried out their threat
to freeze their share of the funding which constitutes 75% of the
overall expenses.
Senior government officials say however, with much bravado, that the
government will pay up the 75% of the presidential election funds if the
donors go ahead with their threat. This is despite the fact that the
government could not come up with the 25% of the voter registration
expenses it was contractually required to contribute.
Although all the parties had signed the Electoral Code of Conduct last
week, which was one of the donors’ major requirements, this latest issue
about the replacement of the entire Electoral Commission will only lend
credence to the government’s argument that Interpeace, the agency
representing the donors, is the one which remains a stumbling to the
presidential election in Somaliland rather than the government itself.
Dahir Rayale is in no mood to replace the seven-member NEC of whom five
of them were nominated by his government and the donors are seemingly
sticking to their guns.
The tragedy is that, while the presidential election is only two months
away, no one in Somaliland can say with absolute certainty until now
whether or not the presidential election will take place on 27 September
as planned.
Source: The Somaliland Globe, July 15, 2009
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