Bashir Goth
The Local Council Elections that were held in Somaliland on 28th
November 2012 left behind bitterness, bloodshed and deep divisions between the
clans as well as moments of joy and celebration. Although the election started
in a festive mood, its aftermath proved the fears of observers about the
irreparable fissions that such unfettered democracy and flawed electoral system
could bring to a tribal society like Somaliland. And on top of this comes the
lack of independent judiciary that could handle disputes with fairness and the
government’s rejection to abide by the rules it put in place.
In the following paragraphs therefore I will try to highlight the
election’s twists and turns and its good, bad and ugly stories.
The Good:
One of the good things about the election was its beautiful
festivals and the joyful mood that prevailed during the campaign. It was
beautiful to watch an isolated and internationally unrecognized state holding
its 2nd municipal election, the first one was in 2002, and the 4th
nationwide election since 2003. Parliamentary elections were held in 2005 and
presidential elections in 2003 and 2010. And despite its glaring flaws, the
local council election was another undeniable landmark in Somaliland’s quest
for democratic transformation.
It was a joy to watch the people exercising their democratic
rights like any country in the world in party campaign forums. The youth and
women have filled the campaign rallies to unmistakably show that they are the
real force and game changers in the country. The youth have temporarily
forgotten their unemployment status and used their positive energy in a
constructive way despite the tribal undercurrents that denied them to achieve
their full potential.
The long queues of the voting day, a symbol of democracy, peace
and refinement, were admirable. It is always reassuring and heartening to see
African people going to the polls and not to trenches to fight their case, to
cast a vote and not carry a gun to settle disputes, to peacefully play by the
rules of the game no matter how flawed they are and not resort to
my-law-in-my-hand tribal fashion.
One whole month of festivities from 29th October to a
long day of civilized voting on 28th November was enough to show the
world that Somali people can be good, law-abiding citizens as any people in the
world and that they are not always unruly, chaotic and warrior nomads as the
world media loves to portray them.
The fact that several women were among the elected councils was also
another promising development that showed the society’s changing attitude,
albeit timidly, towards the role of women.
The Bad:
In a tribal nomadic society where people are divided on clan loyalties,
the opening of the door for multiparty system has shown its devastating effect.
In mature democracies, political parties run and campaign on ideological and
political platforms. They have strategies to follow and political objectives to
achieve. They try to win the support of the voters on their political,
economical and cultural merits. Yes, political divisions could be rife and deep
but they are based on economic and political interest rather than narrow and primitive
ancestral bonds and blood ties. But in Somaliland like elsewhere in Africa, the
political parties have no agenda, no strategies and no real and tangible
objectives. It was boring to listen to party speakers repeating old platitudes
and burnt out ideas. Their vital selling points were their clan identities and
it was unfortunate to see all that exercise, mobilization and festival moods
swallowed up by the tribal vortex. It was not difficult to see who voted for
whom when the results came out. They showed how Somaliland politics rests
purely on tribal crutches.
The Ugly
The ugly episode of the election was the government’s high
handedness in dealing with the people’s complaints after the results were
announced. It is natural for the losing parties or candidates in any election
to feel cheated and demand for justice. In advanced countries such complaints
go to the election commission which plays a neutral role. If the complainants
don’t find the election commission’s decisions convincing, they go to the
courts. In Somaliland, there is a general feeling that neither the election
commission nor the justice system is free from government control. People
therefore revert to the only tested institution they know and that works for
them – the clan. Some parties and candidates therefore showed their grievances
and complaints through clan protests and rallies.
However, instead of handling the issue with tolerance and
understanding, the government resorted to the use of force. Untrained and
uncontrolled police force acting like clan militia used live ammunition on
peaceful protestors, killing about ten young people and wounding many others in
Hargeisa, Borama, Lughya and Zeila.
Even worse than the cold blooded shooting, was the government’s
lack of sympathy for the families of the victims and their indifference to the loss
of human life. It took Silanyo almost one week to make a statement on the
killing of five young protestors in Hargeisa and when he finally did he made it
weak and remorseless which only added insult to injury. It was equally ugly and
despicable to see the powerful cabinet minister Hirsi Ali Haji Hassan boasting
in an interview to one of the websites that the government has paid the blood
money to the families of the victims. Just like that, with no emotion, no
regret, no remorse, and no promise of investigation and punitive action against
the rogue police force. But at least here a statement was made, but the
president has failed abysmally by not uttering a word about those killed by his
policemen in Borama, Lughaya and Zeila.
In an episode reminiscent of dictatorial regimes, I watched the
video of policemen shooting live ammunition indiscriminately at peaceful youth
demonstrators in Borama. At one time, a policeman was strolling in the street
with the gun in his hand after finishing his shooting business. He was
threatening and swearing loudly, calling his victims as Waar laaya, Eeyda,
eaydu dhashay which literally means “Kill them…the dogs sired by dogs.” By
watching this, one couldn’t help but remember the ugly tribal militia
brutalities that we saw elsewhere in Africa.
In the historical city of Zeila, the police have disbanded a group
of peaceful squatters in the town’s local council building by force; killing at
least one person and wounding others.
With all these crimes taking place, President Silanyo did not send
a single message of condolence to the families of victims let alone apprehend
the police individuals whose faces and criminal acts were watched by thousands
on Youtube. But in an apparent act of defiance and a show of support and
approval for his police force, Silanyo was quick to express sadness and send
deep hearted condolences when several policemen were killed in a car accident.
While on the contrary, the President did not think the life of a young girl who
was run over by the police when they were departing Borama was worth his
sympathy.
The government’s unnecessary interference in the election of
municipality mayors in major towns was to reignite bitter clan rivalries. The
government tried to arm-twist council members in Erigavo, Buroa, Berbera and
Zeila through monetary bribes and otherwise to
get their favorite candidates elected as mayors. This was a provocative tactic aimed at
inciting people to take arms and fight in an illusionary war.
The government used Berbera and Zeila as testing grounds for its
divide and rule policy. But it was fortunate to see the communities of these
two areas act more wisely than the government and abort the government’s plans
of pushing them into an internecine civil war. The communities in these two
coastal towns who live in the most inhospitable areas in the region do not need
to kill each other for the greed of opportunistic politicians but instead they
need help to secure the basic subsistence of living such as water for human
consumption and for their dwindling herds.
As a foreign friend who frequently visits Somaliand wrote to me
recently “the people seem resigned to be
stuck with bad politicians, though they deserve better, and get on with their
own lives as best as they can.” Unfortunately the Silnayo government did not
stop only at being a bad government but has also become a brutal one true to
the Somali saying” Indha la’aantii, dad cunimo ayey ku darsatay”. And
the tragedy is that there is no formidable political opposition as Silanyo
seems to have succeeded in breaking the will of all potential political
opponents by opening government coffers and silencing them with cash. It is
only the lonely but courageous voice of Faisal Ali Waraabe and UCID party that
still stands between Silnayo and his ambition to create a dynasty in
Somaliland.
The way out:
Disappointed with the poor performance of Silanyo, the much touted
UK educated leader, former SNM veteran and one of the longest serving ministers
of Siyad Barre; the people of Somaliland are desperate for a bail out from
their current economic and political wilderness.
Many of them view the much anticipated Somalia-Somaliland talks as
a Godsend exit strategy. The way Somalilanders swarm around Fawzia Yusuf Haji
Adam, Somalia’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister, wherever she goes
indicates how much hope they attach on her as their potential life line. We saw
this during Fawzia’s recent visit to the UK and we saw it again when she made a
stopover in Berbera airport en route to Mogadishu. Anyone who was anybody in
Hargeisa came to visit her. No one even remembered the accusation of national
treason that the government leveled against her when she accepted to serve in
the cabinet of the new Somali government. Some of them including Somaliland’s
Foreign Minister and Speaker of the House of Elders even went further, threatening
her that she would be imprisoned if she ever returned to Somaliland. But on the
contrary it was Silanyo’s government itself that was beleaguered by Fawzia’s
presence at its airport.
Given to all foregoing factors and finding itself to be more
divided than any time before, Somaliland needs a new direction to regain its
vitality and the trust of its people. And the way of change is clear. It is to
negotiate with the Somali government from a position of strength with clear strategy
and tangible objectives. But in order to
do that Somaliland first has to hold an inter-clan reconciliation dialogue similar
to the one held in Borama in 1993. It is only through
a united voice from Zeila to Taleh that Somaliland can legitimately sit as an
equal with their partners in Mogadishu.