Hargeysa, Somaliland, June 26, 2010 – Police in the self-proclaimed independent republic of Somaliland arrested 16 people on suspicion of terrorist activity Saturday, as voters cast their ballots in a mostly-peaceful presidential election.

Security forces detained the suspected members of the Somalian Islamist movement Al-Shabaab in two different hotels in the capital Hargeysa, well-informed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa.

Authorities had feared that the rebel group would seek to disrupt the poll, as incumbent Dahir Rayale Kahin faced opposition party leader Ahmed Mahamoud Sillanyo in his bid for a second five-year term.

Thousands of voters queued outside polling stations, some arriving two hours before the polls opened. The election had been postponed three times since April 2008.

Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991when the country descended into civil war is relatively peaceful and stable, but poverty is widespread. No other state recognizes Somaliland as a sovereign state.

Both candidates have pledged to seek international recognition for the territory on the Horn of Africa that once was an Italian colony. The elections are regarded as a crucial step to this end.

The election passed off without major incident, observers said.

"In general, the election was held in a peaceful manner throughout the country. The turnout was very high. However, one security officer was killed and an election official was wounded in a fight with residents of village in eastern Somaliland when electoral officials tried to deliver ballot boxes", Mahdi Gulaid Khadar, legal adviser to the National Electoral Board (NEC) told dpa.

In the disputed areas between Somaliland and the neighboring Somali province of Puntland, a clan militia which is fighting for an independent state tried unsuccessfully to capture equipment of the NEC.

In another incident in the east of Somaliland the same militia stole two vehicles and kidnapped one staff member of the NEC.

"Due to the incidents several hundred people could not vote. But this will not affect the result of the election significantly", Michael Walls, coordinator of an international observer mission, told dpa after polling stations closed.

Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against the Western- backed Mogadishu government since 2007, is opposed to an independent Somaliland and has carried out terrorist attacks there.

The movement's leader, Sheikh Mukhtar Ali Zubayr, issued an audio message Saturday condemning the elections.

In the message he said that both elections and democracy were copies from Christians and Jews and incompatible with Islam. "It is dangerous to run this world through human fashioned techniques," he said.

Many voters expect Sillanyo, who heads the opposition Peace, Unity and Development Party (Kulmiye), to win. In presidential elections in 2003, he had lost against Rayale and his United Peoples' Democratic Party (UDUB) by just 80 votes.

Thousands of policemen patrolled the streets Saturday, while 26 observer teams monitored voting at just under 2,000 polling stations, where some 1 million voters are registered to cast their ballots.

In case of defeat, President Dahir Rayale Kahin has promised to handover peacefully. I am the president. But if I dont win, I will hand over to the one who succeeds peacefully. There will be no problem," he told dpa in an interview Tuesday.

Final results from the vote are expected within a week.

Source: DPA/Earthtimes

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