Yassin Abdillahi Ahmed

The play witnessed after the expulsion Interpeace in early August offered a glimpse into the expected explosive debate the upcoming campaign will show.

All but one, who participated greatly the heated debates, was abroad.

The lead actors on the government side included president Rayale, foreign minister Abdillahi Duale, Finance minister Awil, Public Works Saeed and recently promoted presidency minister Hassan Ma’alin.

Leading opposition offensive were, Faisal Ali Warabe, Mohamed Rashid, Ahmed Sillanyo, Kayse Hassan, Abdiasize Samale. The outsider was the articulate intellectual Kulmiye’s secretary of state Dr. Mohamed Omar. With the benefit of sharpening their debating skills of political arenas, regardless of their ideas this group put up energetic and vivacious show

The opposition leaders miserably failed to produce: like mir Hossein Mousavi, the candidate who officially lost last month’s Iran presidential election, who announced his intention to create a “large-scale social movement” to oppose the government and press for a more open political system.

President Rayaale, after seven years being the top seat in Somaliland and successive defeat of his political foes but now it looks as if the age of untouchable UDUB government conceivably is closing.

Dr. Mohamed Rashid, the vice president candidate of UCID party argued convincingly, that the current government is not only, “out of touch but also whose thinking is beyond the known Somaliland philosophical and political consensus”.

Faisal is leading the opposition alliance at least in the eyes of the ordinary people.

He electrified the opposition supporters and jetted both Nairobi and Addis Ababa to persuade the merits of his argument and the international community warmly welcomed him at least for a while

When Richard Holbrooke was negotiating with Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic to the Balkan war in the mid 90s he earned his nickname, “the bulldozer”, by threatening to bomb Serbia if Milosevic did not come to the bargaining table and unlike Holbrooke Faisal is determined to force the current Government to either accept the voter list and electoral commission reform or public rallies and house impeachment will show them the door but only time will tell whether he will earn “the bulldozer” or not.

His well attended press conferences and highly prepared speeches made his political foes sleepless. he electrified the race, inspired and energized many voters.

Though the foreign minister countered two press conferences, one interior and one president held but so far the Government is losing the battle of minds and hearts of both ingenuous people and the international community.

Last week the House of Representatives held stormy debates characterized by innuendo, emotional outbursts, witch-hunting and rumors but finally, the opposition dominated house defeated the Government supported MPs with ease and the August House once again, Passed a resolution which was critical both the president and, the loathed and besieged national electoral commission and went short of promising impeachment.

More over, despite the horrendous challenges that Chairman Faisal faces, he is indisputably the most imperative leader around, more secure, more articulate and more politically savvy then any of the two others.

To be credible, the opposition parties have to create a frame work which their alliance will work and the ways and means and their methodology.

President Rayale’s untimely, ill-advised and marvel invitation was skillfully calculated merely buying time to let the national anger and uncertainty dissipate before he could take a harder line.

Finally, the opposition parties should be realistic enough and they should ensure the acceptance of the voter list as per published by Interpeace and the reform of National Electoral Commission but they should also payback limited extension of president and vice president term. They need to lead rallies from the front and to champion the rights weak, underprivileged and the populace at large. Stakes are high and the country is in crisis.

Yassin Abdillahi Ahmed

Hargeysa, Somaliland.

yassin_abdillahi@hotmail.com

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