This election is turning into a joke. Given the very low moral standards of Somali politicians and the real risk of a post-election unrest, the ballot papers should not have been made secret instead each voter should have registered their ID number on their ballot paper. This way, ghost voters and those who are underage could be verified and removed easily even after the vote is cast.

@Barwaaqo said: Maashaallah, less opportunities for corruption and vote fixing then.

@Barwaaqo said: Shimbiraha quruxdda badan rag baa dambaaba oo ilaashadda'e ma ishaad wax kaga guru hadii kuwaagii(iyaba qurux kama qatana'e) aad Garanwaa iyo Gudhuu ku casuuntay! :-D

@Suldaanka said: Iran, Iraq, Turkey & Syria gang up on tiny Kurdistan region. Being a land locked country is a real disadvantage. The Iraqi Kurds cannot have a successful independent nation without the support of at least one of its main neighbours, especially Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The obvious reason being as you mention, their lack of access to the sea and hence their inability to trade with the world without the support of these crucial four countries. I think the Kurds will be better off maintaining the status quo- being loosely associated with Iraq but with full control of their affairs.

https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2017/May/142308/white_supremacist_converts_to_islam_%E2%80%94_then_kills_neo_nazi_pals_for_disrespecting_his_new_faith_police.aspx Which is "his" country and which is "their" country? I am confused :-D May Allah help our troubled brother but the positive outcome of this tragedy is that the enemies of Islam will realise that Islam is irrepressible and can emerge from within their ranks while they are unaware.

Happy reunion!! By why are the Djiboutians calling themselves Canfar if they are Warsangali?? That does not make any sense to me. The guy who said ''geela ayaa doonyaha lagusoo kala xadijiray'' made me laugh.

You are not fooling anyone Mr saalax with that Chinese built street which is basically an extension of the presidential palace of an African leader. I am sure that road and those few towers are the price given for a large portion of that country's natural resources. Instead of useless pictures give us meaningful stats from reputable sources to back up your claim. Also don't forget that most of Somaliland was completely ruined just 26 years ago.

Happy Republic Day everyone. May Almighty Allah keep Somaliland safe and make it ever more prosperous.

The funny thing is that this list can also aptly describe the vast majority of the African nations who have been independent for more than six decades. I think Somaliland did pretty well in those 26 years but of course we could have done a lot more if our politicians were more honest and competent.

It was not that long ago when the usual folks here were jumping up and down with joy just because the cheese man met with the Ethiopian PM who consequently told the waiting media a few diplomatic words which in reality meant nothing like a one night stand. https://www.hiiraan.com/news/2017/May/wararka_maanta17-141199.htm

@2:24 minutes he is said that he is risking his life because he prefers to die in his country. Now the question I have for this gentleman is why did he leave his country in the first place to seek refuge elsewhere? This can fool galbeedi but he is not going to fool me. In Somaliland, the politicians are unashamed about their tribalism and corruption but those in Mogadishu are the worst kind of hypocrites.

@Che -Guevara said: The Ethiopians are merely clients with no ownership rights unless they have invested in the port, in which case they will partners just like DP World.. The only thing that they are entitled to is the expectation that Ethiopian imports going directly to Ethiopia won't taxed apart from infrastructure maintenance expenses as stipulated in the laws regarding the access to seas. You are correct that Ethiopia has no right to claim any share in the joint venture without investing in it but I guess the logic of this agreement is to get Ethiopia which will be the only client worth mentioning to divert a sizeable portion of its import-export business from Djibouti to Berbera. It is the same logic as a company selling its products at an unprofitable price to promote its brand and beat competition in the short to medium term. Remember Ethiopia has access also to the ports in Sudan and Kenya.

@Haatu said: Carabta gartayee, Xabashida maxaa meesha keenay? How do you justify that? The Ethiopians are going to be the main customers of the port. Without the huge landlocked Ethiopian market next door the Arabs would not be investing in Berbera. Moreover, as the Ethiopian cargo traffic to Berbera increases, more and more other international shipping lines will also come to Berbera making it a transit and trading hub.

@MouradMaalin said: Please let the secessionists believe in their own dreams, there is no need to wake them from their dreams. As it stands right now: Somaliland is projected to gain full international recognization in the year 2091. If the world does not come to an end before then, 18 May 2091 will inshaallah be a big day :-D

@Maakhiri1 said: ^You nailed it saxb, waa calaacasha oo tima ka soo baxaaan in Ethiopia aqoonsato SL, cid kaleba macquul. Hadeey yeelaan, waa " can of worms" . 20 SL baa ku hoos jira Ethiopia. saa sheegtay Wax walbana waa u qabtaan Madaxda SL for Ethiopia, Madaxa u rogtaan, why create more problems, when they getting the milk for free. Talaabo,Saaxb I never trust Ethiopians, but this words will be held accountable for them, watch this space , the game has changed, any delegation for Federal states include SL must first get permission from Mogadishu Saaxiib who do you think will hold Ethiopia accountable and how??? Yes Ethiopia itself has problems with secessionists and had already lost Eritrea but the reality is it also has a huge problem with Somalis like you who would want her to get broken up and weakened. So Ethiopia is not stupid to let its arch enemy get the upper hand by being free of internal political strive whilst exploiting Ethiopia's weaknesses. In that case Somaliland is vital to Ethiopia's interests be it military, political, security, economy, etc. Indeed on many occasions Ethiopian leaders including both the late Males Zenawi and the current PM made commitments to defend Somaliland against external aggression. We did not ask them to make such commitments but they did it out of pure self interest. Somaliland also recognises its importance to Ethiopia so it would only take the Somaliland president to give a hint of our intention to reunite with Somalia for Ethiopia to take heed.

@gooni said: Labadaa nin markaad hadalkooda si fiican u dhagaysato waxaa kuu soo baxaya Aasaaskii snm inaysan maskax soomaali ka timid ku abuurmin,waligayna waan ogaa arintaas, xataa haddii diyaaraduhu run yihiin muslinku waa samraa gaal kuma hor galgasho. itoobiya wax ma aqoonsato adeer, balse beel walba maslaxadeeda bay ka doonataa waana qaybta ay guulaha badan ka keentay. Adigu wali ma odaygii xamar kabo la'aan lagaga saaray ayaad u mashaxaradaysaa. Saaxiib haddii adiga Itoobiya kuu taliso annaga ganacsi ayuunbaa naga dhexeeya

^ Your views scream of naivety. Do you really think the Ethiopian PM means what he says when he is robotically reading scripts? And there is actually nothing new about what he said given that Ethiopia maintains a policy of not being the first country to recognise Somaliland. "Dadkooda ayay dhinaca ka raaci lahaayeen"- does that mean surrendering to international terrorists and inviting foreign mercenaries into our land?

@Jaabiri said: Girls complaining watch this girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNRNvl8d44o If this girl denounces Islam (God forbid) her parents will be responsible to a large extent. This so called "Islamic" boarding school or Guantanamo bay prison according to the testimony of the girl should not even have male staff freely mingling with teenage girls in secluded rooms. Where are the bearded peddlers of "shariah" in Somaliland? The failed parents of these kids should be castrated to save children from such miserable life.

Caruurtii qaarbaa Yurub dib loogu celiyay https://www.hiiraan.com/news/2017/May/wararka_maanta4-141019.htm Dhaqan celis dambe ma jirayo :-D

Alle ha u naxariiso marxuunka ehelkiisana ha xafido. MMA adigana samir iyo imaan Alle hakaa siiyo

This is for the "wasiirka afsoomaaliga" aka Haatu.

I think this case has nothing to do with terrorism. It is rather a case of European authorities coming after their underage citizens who were abducted from Europe by their Somali parents and kept in Africa against their will. This will be a wake up call for the ignorant qurbojoog parents that their children are free agents not mere possessions to be mistreated. The lesson to be learned here is: if you take a western citizenship, you surrender absolute control of your western born children. So basically it is your children or a passport.

@Saalax said: Thanks to decades of tree cutting. Somalis don't care about the environment and then cry later when droughts keep coming. You are right, deforestation, squandering of money on drugs like khat, corruption, tribalism, and giving power to unqualified useless politicians are the root causes of this disaster. Draughts are a feature of the environment we live in and due to climate change their frequency and intensity will only increase further, but instead of adapting to them by building reservoirs, wells, protecting the trees we have and planting more, managing grazing lands, developing farming and fishing, and making preparations for such situations we remained complacent. Therefore we should blame ourselves and not the climate.

That is a good start but the Ethiopian regime will not let their quarter century old influence in Somalia end that easily.