President Muse Bihi Abdi Failed Attain the Elections on Time

[Deeq A.]

President Muse Bihi Abdi Failed Attain the Elections on Time

As the election commission stated yesterday, they have once again postponed the election. The commission clearly defined the reasons for the delay which includes the lack of initiate by the current president Muse Bihi Abdi. Since the Solidarity Party (Kulmiye) came to power in 2010 they have miserably failed to fulfil their responsibility. To prevent any extension of the lower House of parliament and no election in the predictable future, the President has power to intervene through the judiciary branch as he did the previous president, but he ignored it.
Somaliland has been functioning as a full government for almost twenty-eight years; however, Somaliland is still suffering for undertaking the House Representative and Local Council election. The former President of Somaliland was unable to conduct the House Representatives election for 7 years in which he was in office. The ill-fated issues that the current administration inherited from the previous leader must be fixed before it is too late. Why does the election need the concession between the decision maker? As we know it, the last election of the House Representative was held in September 2005. Before the last election were held in 2005, the main obstacle was the lack of electoral laws. For that reason, the leaders of the both houses have been delaying, postpone and extended the election.
As we have witnessed, former President Dahir Riyaal Kahin was the only president who achieved to perform the parliamentary election in 2005. After President perceived the inevitability of possible extension of the Lower House of Parliament, President Dahir Riyal Kahin took a strong decision and put forward to Constitutional court for their cause. The President Dahir Riyaal succeeded and finally was signed and published the election law on April 12, 2005.
We are deeply disappointed if the election is postponed and not conducted on time. Those who love the democracy, rule of law and human rights in Somaliland would grieve concern. The parliament and local government elections will be assigned in March 2019; however, it seems it will not be held on time as the election commission announced.
As we have witnessed in early 2017, the House of elders (Upper House) postponed the Presidential election, House of Representatives and Municipality election without care the outcry of the Somaliland people. No one wants that to happen again. To fulfil the command of our constitution, we are against any illegal postpone of any elections whether it is House of Representatives, the House of Elders (Upper House), Local Councils or Presidential. The members of parliament are thugs and they do not deserve to remain in the office for one more day after their illegal terms ended. I have a right to call them criminals. For 13 years, they have been collecting the taxpayer’s money as well as kickbacks. Somaliland constitution set up the terms of the office, which is 5 years from the date the Supreme Court announce the results. The new president credibility is at stake as long as the election is delayed. The election delay undermines democratic progress in Somaliland. The delay of the election could cause serious concerns among opposition parties, international partners and those who love the sustainability development of the Somaliland.
This coming election is the litmus test of the new elected government. As the constitution mentioned, any changes such as the number of districts, regions or their boundaries, and the reasons for the changes could be proposed by the executive branches. And finally approves by the House of Representatives and House of Elders. The House Representatives election laws (Law No: 20-2/2005) says: “In the election of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Somaliland, the country shall be divided, in accordance with Article 109 of the national Constitution, into electoral regions which will have the same boundaries as the six districts which existed on 26 June 1960 and which are now the regions.”

Qaran News