The EU is part of the problem in Somaliland
The European Union gave millions of Euros in aid to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in order to carry out voter registration campaign throughout Somaliland. However, the first cash installment of that aid did not only disappear into a bottomless blackhole of incompetence and corruption but had led to the disastrous failure of the entire voter registration. — by Jamal Madar
NEC
The voter registration started in October 2008 and was basically intended to ensure that everyone entitled to vote could do so, to prevent ineligible persons from voting, and to guard against multiple voting by the same individual. The accuracy of a voter register is therefore a key element in ensuring that all qualified constituents can enjoy the right to vote.
Sadly, the entire process has been a shambles from start to finish. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of people had been disadvantaged or disenfranchised simply because the whole process was not entirely properly thought out. It was therefore doomed from the start to fail. Procedures were not carefully planned and implemented and as a result the data of hundreds of thousands of people i.e. finger prints, photos and other personal details were either missing or accidentally or deliberately deleted; the server that was meant to process the images and fingerprints to detect double votes still lacks properly trained and knowledgeable people to operate it and the mysterious announcement by the Head of the Voter Registration Bureau that the Awdal region digital voter list jumped from the NEC’s original figure of 134,000 to 180,000 overnight further muddied the waters. This was the last nail in the coffin of the voter registration.
The government’s constant meddling in the internal affairs of the NEC is responsible for this utter mess.
Clearly, the voter registration process was used as a ploy by Rayale and his henchmen to create chaos and confusion in an apparent attempt to pave the ground for the postponement of the presidential election at a later date. Surely, Rayale and his unscrupulous gang have succeeded with flying colours to achieve their goals.
The intermediary agency, INTERPEACE, which the EU money was held in its bank account was consistently unable to account for hundreds of thousands of Euros spent by the NEC thus far. However, Interpeace was used and abused by the Rayale government to advance its political ends to postpone the presidential election. It involved itself deep into the rough and tumble of Somaliland politics.
In a nutshell, the EU funds have been siphoned off; there is no credible voters’ register, the so-called server is not functioning and the government willfully failed to fully pay its share of the voter registration expenses.
As a result of this failed EU-funded project, the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on 29 March 2009 is unlikely to happen for many months to come. The notion that somehow the election will occur on 31st May 2009, as the NEC officially announced recently is simply not credible.
It was ‘the European Union who blindly insisted on Somaliland voter registration without understanding its traditions’. It is therefore fair to say the EU is part and parcel of the problem in Somaliland today.
Now the onus is on the EU officials to tell Rayale in no uncertain terms that he should resign from office by the end of his term on 6 April 2009 so that all leaders of the three major political parties can have a level-playing field in a fair and free presidential election.
Failure to do so may lead the country to serious civil disturbances that could destabilize it.
The people of Somaliland will not accept this time around for Rayale to attempt to enter into the office of the presidency through the window.
Jamal Madar
adammadar@yahoo.com
5 Responses to “The EU is part of the problem in Somaliland”
March 20th, 2009 saat: 4:22 am
This is very important information because something is wrong in Somaliland and we need to look deeper to find out the roots causes. I’m also not happy when i hear tribes have special meetings because this undermines democracy in Somaliland. Thanks for posting this information, and i hope everything works out for Somaliland.
March 20th, 2009 saat: 8:00 am
Yaa shaqaale ah yaase dawlad ah?
Waa yaabka yaabkiiye saw Af/weyneba nagama dhamaado iyo adeegayaashiisu. Nin meeli u muuqataa meeli kamadow.
Cambe
March 20th, 2009 saat: 4:57 pm
The Recessing SL Voter Registration
In a time when Somaliland has started to perfect its nod of someone coping to the challenges ahead and appears to burnish its home-grown democracy by harnessing own ability to succeed in voter registration for its upcoming presidential election, Clan-politics’ intrigues has given vent to proselytizing “ Censorship” over supposedly “voter registration” in certain SL regions.
While we all wish it were not otherwise, applying the guiding principles, code of ethics, and rules and regulations set forth to govern the voter registration fairly to all SL regions should have emboldened our aspirations and the hope we profess in our unity march for better Somaliland.
The establishment of the NEC was aimed at serving as a linchpin in the fundamentals of fairness and transparency in our elections and came at the beginning of what is meant to be our societal shift, when new ideas (partisan) are challenging old African doctrine (Clannish) along with our attempt to prove that we manage our things differently than proper Somalia to cajole World community into doing their part – our independence recognition. The NEC however flunked its first big test when it has not adequately responded to series of quandary that began shortly after Voter registration.
I cannot say the panoply of reports about voter registration irregularities surprises me. From the history of fraud that often stems from clans’ scrounging to outnumber each other in African Countries, this should not be unexpected in Somaliland. When power is up for grabs, clans with the blessing of clan-politicians will do anything, behind the scenes, to get it. But SL people are yet to come to grips with the fact that Clan -Politicians who always tries to be everything can eventually face accusations that, behind it all, they’re really no one at all.
Unlike our sister state in the South, our approach to issues has always been circumspection and prudence from bottom-up. But the current Voter Registration, in my opinion, was anything but. Fraud will be much more frequent when we do not have the right approach. Our right approach should have been that the local governments should first register and issue ID cards to their respective locality residences. Citizens would then be mandated to bring their Ids for his/her identity reassurance and eligibility at the voter registration localities as a backstop against all fraudulent such as underage registration, intra-regional citizens’ movement to potentially register in another region, and registering some one without his/her presence (by proxy). Many, like this writer, had fears that nothing good could come from a faulty approach.
Not all regions are suffering to the same degree from this faulty approach, though. According to observers, pattern irregularities regarding voter registration in Awdal included but not limited to: not following procedure; not respecting working hours; not placing enough registration papers and data operators; and using an out-dated tools that were not orderly synchronous in operation, which when summed up has fettered the capacity of throughput of the very few working computers/printers to cope with the larger number of voters lined up at the registering localities.
Despite the concerns voiced by Awdalities, young and old, over their region’s voter registration irregularities, NEC remained mute and action less and that was the deflating ending to their courting of ensuring fairness and equal treatment. Data operators’ dishonesty and unskilled ness along with frequent computer failures, the registration situation has exacerbated to a level that only 40% of eligible Awdal voters were registered. It is therefore fair to say about NEC subsequent announcements of different counts of Awdal voter preliminary results at different times were inextricably tied to NEC determination to win accolades for “doing” it rather than ensuring its procedural and fairness. As President Andrew Jackson wrote “Great evils … flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”
It can be worrisome news in the meanwhile to any conscientious Somali Lander about why our Somaliland central community intellectuals and Media acted coyly regarding Awdal concern about voter registration? Where is our high moral value for yearning fairness and justice for all Somaliland?
In my opinion, we should not be doing voter registration unless we have the right approach to it and most importantly until our SL people as well as political leaders apprehend completely its regard. The three political parties that have much to lose should not be entrusted with the overall of the system. Wolves shouldn’t be allowed to pick the new dog used to protect sheep.
AWDAL’s digital voter list increment is not of the mistakes that contributed to the failure of this voter registration, as you and others like you want us to believe. The increment is because of the extra 15 days given to that region….
March 21st, 2009 saat: 2:19 am
It’s unfortunate that people who seem to be highly educated in view of their writing,like the above gentleman,are infested with the disease of distorting the logic.I believe that he willfully justifies what is obviously wrong by common sense.How can anyone comprehend that the extra 15 days topped up Awdal registration with tens of thousands while virtually other regions suffered cuts in the same period.Ostensibly the extra work done in that time should add more registration numbers,certainly not as inflated as Awdal though,but how could numbers go lower in some regions by registering further potential voters.
So,what hope/prospects would you expect if those who seem educated,intellectuals….at least by local standards,distort the truth,mislead common people,knowingly or otherwise?!!!!So is it wise-and I believe yes-to forget about crediting people by merit of their literacy level/schooling and we come to terms with the incosistency we are meddled with by resorting to traditional governing under the tree and by ORIGINAL GUURTI(not the politicised version).Back to Basics
March 22nd, 2009 saat: 9:53 pm
It is very unfortunate of Mr.Hashi to cry foul about anything that gives something to others and not to his peers. I am not from Awdal but the fact that if anything that gives Awdal something raises your peer’s eye-brow is helaas very unfortunate. Awdal FYI had not had the early period other SL regions had before the extention. And because of a conspiracy hatched up by your peers, through Awdal lackeys, resulted in less voter registration in Awdal while in Buro, Hargeisa….etc had committed every deceit in the book to get high turn out….How come Buro and Hargeisa had such hyperbolic numbers unless their respective graves are registred and also to-be-born babies in their mothers’ womb… please see the exact numbers voted from these region before… In precise, Mr. Hashi we (SL) know each other and there is nothing to convince any one of us to this falacy unless they are aimed at our donor (foreigners).