Preliminary Election Results Point to Coalition Politics in Puntland

[Deeq A.]

Epochal: Voters casting their votes in direct elections in Puntland.

Garowe (PP News Desk) — Preliminary results of pilot local elections indicate the direction that parliamentary democracy will take once political associations get promoted to political parties. The Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission officials said that the Supreme Court of Puntland would release official results.

In all the three districts— Eyl, Ufayn and Qardho — Kaah, the political association associated with the incumbent administration, has garnered more votes than each of the next two political associations, Mideeye (Unifier) and Cadaaladda iyo Sinnaanta (Justice and Equality), but the total votes of the two political associations mean an obstacle for Kaah to lead the formation of district councils if it fails to make a deal with one of the two political organisations or if the two political organisations form a coalition.

In Qardho Muhsin Abdullahi Haji, a former internally displaced person, won a councillor seat. “Puntland State has made a legislation that emphasises citizenship rights not circumstantial labels, as shown by the active participation of internally displaced persons from Southern Somalia in the pilot local elections” said a political analyst in Garowe.

Muhsin Abdullahi Haji won a council seat in Qardho without the IDP label.

TPEC made an unpublished amendments to its guidelines that granted the three winning political associations the privilege to graduate to political parties. This compromise resulted from lobbying by several political associations that raised questions about representativeness of any three political associations without people in Puntland exercising their rights to vote as stipulated in Puntland constitution. UNSOM commended Puntland political leaders for the democratic experiment that paves the way for one person, one vote elections in Somalia.

“The United Nations in Somalia commends the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC), the government and people of Puntland for their commitment to holding direct elections, as enshrined in Puntland’s Constitution” said UNSOM in a statement. Sweden, a major supporter of Puntland development and democratisation initiatives, lauded how “elections in Puntland have unfolded peacefully in a[n]organised manner…”

Preliminary election results of Qardho. Preliminary election results of Eyl Preliminary election results of Ufeyn.

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© Puntland Post, 2021

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