Consultative meeting promoting inclusive & peaceful elections in Somaliland

PRESS STATEMENT

Center for Policy Analysis (CPA), a member of the Somaliland Independent Civil Society Coalition (ISCO), stands for the establishment of democracy, strengthening of free and fair elections and the protection of the rights of citizens. CPA monitors the process of the organizing, the preparation, and the coordination of the upcoming combined elections of the House of Representatives and the local councils in Somaliland.

In particular, CPA has been an active in promoting of formal representation for women and minority communities, as well as advocating the protection of the rights for the women and minority candidates.

CPA organized a one-day consultative meeting attended by the electoral stakeholders, including leaders from the three national political parties, representatives from the government, Civil Society organizations, UN agencies, International Organizations, and diplomatic communities in Hargeisa. The main objective of the meeting was to promote inclusive and peaceful elections.

At the end of the meeting, the following recommendations were issued:

1. The Conference welcomed the meeting of the 10^th of May, 2021, held at the Somaliland Presidential Palace, where the Election Stakeholders discussed on the election issues, especially the release of the candidates who have been arrested, and a political consensus reached by the election stakeholders, the Conference reminded and urges all the election stakeholders to corporate to build the confidence of all and ensure free, fair and inclusive elections.
2. The Conference commends the Government of Somaliland for wavering the registration fee for the women and minority candidates.
3. The Conference proposes to drop all charges against the released candidates who appeared on the official electoral roll as they have been released on bail, so that the candidates to have the moral stability to present their election campaigns. Detentions of the candidates and their supporters should be avoided in order to preserve the credibility and integrity of the elections.
4. The Conference is concerned about the low participation of women and minorities in this year’s elections with the total number of female candidates being 28 members out of the 798 candidates, while the number of Gabooye clan are only 5 candidates.
5. The Conference calls on the national parties and the National Electoral Commission to pay special attention to the women and minority candidates to participate in the elections, such as providing technical and financial support.
6.  In order to have free, fair and inclusive elections, the Conference calls NEC to operationalize the election monitoring committee and the code of conduct committees.

CPA appreciates UNSOM integrated office that supported the consultative meeting.

End