The european union, IGAD and the UN have today released a joint statement on delays to somaliland parliamentary and local elections.
They have voiced concerns on the the decision of the Guurti to extend both House of Representatives and Guurti’s mandates to January 2022 and January 2023 respectively.
Somaliland’s international patners have voiced concerns on events that they say have significantly undermined commitments to the detriment of Somaliland’s democratic credentials and international standing.
The UNnited Nations, IGAD, European Union, United States of America, Germany, United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, France, Italy, Greece and Switzer land also say they are deeply concerned by instances of seemingly arbitrary detentions and by increased restrictions on freedom of expression.
In a statement sent to newsrooms the group also says its worried by the decision of the Guurti to extend both House of Representatives and Guurti’s mandates to January 2022 and January 2023 respectively. Both Houses, established to represent the women and men of Somaliland, have been sitting for a period much too long by any democratic standards.
Local councils have been operating without a democratic mandate since April 2019.
They have called on the government and all political actors to reaffirm, through both words and deeds, the long-standing culture of mutual agreement, consensus and compromise, to find a way through this current impasse in order for both parliamentary and local elections to take place without any further delay, well before the end of the calendar year 2020.
For the last two years, the three political parties of Somaliland have not reached any resolutions collectively to the election challenges.
The local and parliamentary elections were previously scheduled to happen in March 2019. Countless meetings between the parties have resulted in no solutions.
The House of Elders extended the term of their colleagues, the House of Representatives, and the election date is still unknown.
As long-standing partners for the progress of Somaliland during the last 25 years, the Somaliland international patners gave praised the ongoing local mediation efforts and underline that for us to support the electoral process, it must promote political inclusiveness and the full respect of the law.
They also noted the need to have an Electoral Commission that inspires broad trust from all political actors as well as from the citizens of Somaliland.
The international community stressed that democratically elected institutions can deliver the development outcomes that the people of Somaliland deserve. This is also what we as partners expect from our cooperation with Somaliland.
By admin
November 27, 2019
