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Ibrahim Egal, pictured, was the first democratically elected president of self-proclaimed Somaliland. His presidency lasted between 1996 and 2002. Photo: Charles Fred /Flickr

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Somaliland: Democratic achievements in the nation that does not exist

On November 13 this year, voters in Somaliland went to the polls to elect a new president. The opposition party's candidate, Mohamed Abdullahi, emerged victorious. The breakaway region of Somalia lacks international recognition. At the same time, international interest in the breakaway region is increasing, which has led to intensified geopolitical tensions. 

When the long-awaited elections in Somaliland were held just over a month ago, it resulted in Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, the candidate from the opposition party Waddani getting just over 60 percent of the registered votes and becoming Somaliland's new president.

- The vote and its aftermath underlined Somaliland's position as a consolidating democracy with a reputation for political stability, the analyst points out Omar Mahmood in a text for the International Crisis Group. Which also believes that the National Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court showed strong leadership and integrity during the election process.

The previous president's administration must have successfully dealt with logistical challenges and refrained from influencing the vote in an indecent way, he writes.

While the election can to some extent be seen as a democratic success, Mahmood also points out that Somaliland is still characterized by persecution of critical voices and that clan affiliation, rather than political opinion, often determines how voters cast their votes.

A representative democracy in an undemocratic country

Somaliland, which has about 6 million inhabitants, declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but has functioned as an independent state for 83 years. The independence is neither recognized by Somalia nor by any other country.

For the past seven years, President Muse Bihi Abdi has been in power. Since independence, Somaliland has established its own currency, its own security force and developed a civil administration, which is mainly centered around the capital Hargeisa.

The election in Somaliland was the fourth in a row where voting took place in line with the principle of universal suffrage. That is, a person entitled to vote casts a vote.

Political leaders in Somalia have long promised that the elections to their parliament and local government will follow the same model, but have so far failed to live up to this. Under the current system in Somalia, clan representatives vote for the parliamentary candidates on behalf of their clan members. However, the government in Mogadishu has promised to 2025 local elections shall be the first to apply universal suffrage.

Somaliland has a unique version of the multiparty system, in which only three parties are allowed to operate at a time. The vote on which three parties would receive a political license, and thus the opportunity to participate in Somaliland's politics for the next 10 years, was delayed. Even the recent presidential election was delayed by two years.

The controversies between the then ruling party and the opposition have been related to both attempts to check the political calendar. The delays resulted in tensions. In August 2023, five people reportedly died after a clash between opposition protesters and government forces, according to International Crisis Group.

A recognition in progress?

Somaliland's position at the mouth of the Red Sea makes it a strategically important location.

In early 2024, Somaliland and landlocked Ethiopia merged into one controversial agreement on the rumored establishment of an Ethiopian port along the Gulf of Aden in exchange for official recognition of Somaliland has eased regional tensions in 2024.

Somalia has described the agreement in a statement as an act of aggression. In Somalia's opinion, Somaliland does not have the opportunity to enter into such agreements, as the port, according to them, would be in Somali territory. The newly appointed Somaliland government has promised to work for the agreement to be implemented.

After nearly a year of diplomatic efforts and deepening tensions, which included arms deliveries from Egypt, Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to cooperate to secure Ethiopia commercial access to the Red Sea. Thus assumed the agreement with Somaliland terminated or put on hold.

While any Ethiopian recognition of Somaliland is not expected in the near future, a former British minister Sir Gavin Williamsson speculates that the newly elected US President Donald Trump may recognize Somaliland as an independent state, the newspaper writes Independent.

Although Reuters and Aljazeera reports that several officials who worked on foreign policy during Trump's previous term have publicly expressed support for recognizing Somaliland.

Swedish governments have shown no public indications of wanting to recognize Somaliland. But in the Riksdag, the Christian Democrats have Ingemar Kihlström and Magnus Oscarsson in one motion from 2023 argued that Sweden should recognize the territory as an independent country.

- Somaliland is surrounded by dictatorships, terrorists and pirates. But in the midst of the darkness, 1 primary schools and over 237 universities have been founded. Over a million refugees have returned despite the country being one of the world's poorest, they write.

With a new government in place, Somaliland is at a crossroads where its democratic achievements and strong institutions contrast with developments in the rest of Somalia. The debate about official recognition will therefore continue.

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