Somaliland lawmakers approve a new bill on the elections

By: Zakeriye Ahmed, Horndiplomat Correspondent

Somaliland’s House of Representatives approved a bill to simultaneously hold the presidential and political parties’ elections. 33 MPs voted in favor, while 19 abstained out of 52 who attended today’s meeting.

The House of Representatives will submit this new bill to the House-Senate of Somaliland to vote. After that, they will pass to Somaliland’s President Muse Biihi to sign. President Muse Biihi has the authority to return this bill to parliament.

Hersi Ali H. Hassan and Faysal Ali Warabe, the chairpersons of both Somaliland’s opposition parties of Waddani and Ucid, welcomed the newly approved bill. “I urge the Senate House to approve the bill immediately”, Faysal Ali Warabe tweeted.

Somaliland’s three political parties have officially submitted the papers required under law number 14 to the National Committee of the political association’s registration and national parties’ approval.

Somaliland’s election disputes started after the government announced that the registration and the political parties’ election should be conducted six months before the parties’ mandate expires, as stipulated by law number 14. The presidential and political parties’ elections are the centre of the crisis. The political crisis circulates a disagreement on which election should conduct first.

The opposition parties argued that the party’s mandate would expire in December, while President Muse Bihi’s term would end in November. So the government should hold a presidential election, and the political parties’ election should come after the presidential election.

© Horn Diplomat 2022