Liibaan Posted July 3, 2010 Ethiopia calls on Somaliland parties to accept provisional election results Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia on Friday called political parties in Somaliland to accept the provisional results of the 26 June poll in that country where the opposition leader was declared as the winner. According to the provisional results released by the electoral commission of Somaliland, opposition leader Ahmed Mahmoud Silanyo won 49.6 percent of the vote, while current President Dahir Riyale Kahin won 33.2 percent and Faisal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Welfare Party won 17.2 percent. “The people of Somaliland have once again demonstrated their sense of responsibility and commitment to maintaining the peace and stability of the country as well as its on going democratization process,” said a statement issued here by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ethiopia has political and economic ties with Somaliland since its self-declared independence in 1991. “We encourage all concerned to respect the provisional results announced by the electoral commission, and if there are complaints, the proper legal procedures need to be followed,” said the statement. “The Somaliland political parties have also remained true to this high standard of citizenship demonstrated by their people. It does not matter who has prevailed in the election, the winners are the people of Somaliland and they need to be congratulated,” the statement adds. Ethiopia also pays tribute to the leaders of all political parties in Somaliland, in particular to President Dahir Rayale, for his high sense of obligation to the people of Somaliland and to the leader of the winning party, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo for his magnanimity and for his commitment to build on what has been achieved in Somaliland over the years. No country has so far recognized Somaliland as an independent nation, which is relatively more peaceful compared to neighbouring Somalia. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
