Somaliland presidential election, 2017
Nov 10, 2017 21:30:03 GMT
dizz, Adam in Stroud, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 21:30:03 GMT
Presidential elections in Somaliland on 13/11. The only democracy on the Horn of Africa. It will be their third democratic presidential election in a row.
President Silanyo has decided to step down after one term (very rare for an African leader) and three contenders are vying to replace him.
Main candidates:
Musa Bihi Abdi (69) from the ruling Kulmiye (Solidarity) is a former air force commander in the Somali National Army and subsequently head of the military wing of the Somali National Movement (SNM), the main northern group in the rebellion against dictator Siad Barre in 1991. He co-founded Kulmiye with Silanyo in the early-2000s. Ahead of the 2010 elections Silanyo made a deal with Bihi and his powerful Habar Awal clan to support Silanyo if he stepped down for Bihi after one term.
Abdirahman Mohamed "Irro" Abdullahi (62) from Waddani (National Party) was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005-17.
Kulmiye has a mixed record in government:
Positive accomplishments:
- boosted foreign investment (especially from the Gulf States)
- secured reconciliation with Somaliland's unruly eastern regions.
Negative factors:
- failed to prevent inflation and unemployment from rising.
- sold state land in Berbera to supporters at a pittance of its real value.
- engaged in general cronyism.
Waddani is running a populist "change" campaign with little in the way of concrete policies. The party is anti-Gulf Arabs and wants to cancel the military and port deals with the UAE. Its main weakness is its links to the federal government in Mogadishu and the fact that the bulk of its leadership are former members of Mogadishu governments. That makes them vulnerable to charges of not being fully committed to the fight for international recognition.
The third candidate is Faysal Ali "The Hyena" Warabe (69) from For Justice and Welfare (UCID). Engineer, civil servant, party founder and perennial candidate, who has ran in every election since 2003, and is mainly backed by the youth. UCID is a Socialist, fairly secular and non-clan based (they refuse to offer bribes to clan elders or accept endorsements from them). They have focused on GOTV effort young people and created a "vote app", but despite young voters making up a majority of the population its still hard to see Warabe win.
President Silanyo has decided to step down after one term (very rare for an African leader) and three contenders are vying to replace him.
Main candidates:
Musa Bihi Abdi (69) from the ruling Kulmiye (Solidarity) is a former air force commander in the Somali National Army and subsequently head of the military wing of the Somali National Movement (SNM), the main northern group in the rebellion against dictator Siad Barre in 1991. He co-founded Kulmiye with Silanyo in the early-2000s. Ahead of the 2010 elections Silanyo made a deal with Bihi and his powerful Habar Awal clan to support Silanyo if he stepped down for Bihi after one term.
Abdirahman Mohamed "Irro" Abdullahi (62) from Waddani (National Party) was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005-17.
Kulmiye has a mixed record in government:
Positive accomplishments:
- boosted foreign investment (especially from the Gulf States)
- secured reconciliation with Somaliland's unruly eastern regions.
Negative factors:
- failed to prevent inflation and unemployment from rising.
- sold state land in Berbera to supporters at a pittance of its real value.
- engaged in general cronyism.
Waddani is running a populist "change" campaign with little in the way of concrete policies. The party is anti-Gulf Arabs and wants to cancel the military and port deals with the UAE. Its main weakness is its links to the federal government in Mogadishu and the fact that the bulk of its leadership are former members of Mogadishu governments. That makes them vulnerable to charges of not being fully committed to the fight for international recognition.
The third candidate is Faysal Ali "The Hyena" Warabe (69) from For Justice and Welfare (UCID). Engineer, civil servant, party founder and perennial candidate, who has ran in every election since 2003, and is mainly backed by the youth. UCID is a Socialist, fairly secular and non-clan based (they refuse to offer bribes to clan elders or accept endorsements from them). They have focused on GOTV effort young people and created a "vote app", but despite young voters making up a majority of the population its still hard to see Warabe win.
