The international community has to know that 74% of Somaliland voters are starving to death due to the severe drought that has seriously affected the countrywide. By: Abdihakeem Mossa Ali
On the basis of the assessment report conducted and presented by the Somaliland National Electoral Commission (NEC), the situation is humanitarian rather than starting the election campaigns. It is time to declare the state of emergency and direct the national potential toward rescue of drought victims. The Somaliland constitution states that whenever the nation is experiencing in a natural disaster like the drought, the scheduled election has to be postponed and the first priority has to be given to the salvation of the people affected by that disaster. If the international community is interesting in holding fair and free election in Somaliland, it has to know that 74% of the people who are eligible to vote have been affected by the drought and are suffering today serious starvation, severe malnutrition and lethal transmitted diseases accompanied with the drought. Therefore, the scheduled presidential election cannot be held under this circumstance, hence the international community is expecting to feel that humanitarian situations and take part the rescue operation by providing necessary aids and turn its efforts toward saving the souls instead of thinking about the elections. Since the majority of voters are not in their polling stations, holding elections may open the doors for manipulated elections and opposition parties are ready to react to any kind of electoral fraud and vote rigging tactics. The ruling party KULMIYE is seeing the opportunity of manipulating elections in these difficult conditions of drought, this is why the Kulmiye candidate Muse Bihi is committed to run for president in this harsh situation. the rural society who are entitled to vote have been affected badly by the drought that decimated their livestock nearly 90%, left behind famine and extreme poverty that puts them on the verge of death. As reported by the NEC, nearly 60% of registrants for voting have migrated from their polling stations and are very far away to reach during card distribution and voting day. Under these circumstances, any attempt of holding elections may result political crisis that ends up overwhelming chaos as the two other opposition parties are extremely opposing the passing over the current situation of ruinous drought, the reaction of opposition supporters may cause uncontrollable public outcry that threatens the fragile stability in Somaliland. Therefore, the international community has to give absolute consideration to the assessment report presented by the NEC that reflects the actual situation of Somaliland election voters.
By: Abdihakeem Mossa Ali
mascuud60@hotmail.com
The speaker of Somaliland Civil Society(SCS)