Somaliland: Mediation Committee Announces Decision

Hargeisa, 29 April 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Since last week, the Mediation Committee have been engaged in a series of meetings with the government and the two opposition parties [Kulmiye and Ucid] in Somaliland in order to reach a national consensus to resolve the current political crisis in the country. The Committee managed to bring the two sides together to discuss face-to-face a possible imperative solution for the survival and continuation of democratic system in Somaliland.

The Committee, then said they would announce the final decision and recommendations on Tuesday (28th April) but that was not to be. Somalilandpress has learned that the meeting turned into a heated debate and it was difficult to reach an agreement.

In a press release, the Committee today announced their final decision based on consensus points that they believe would finalize an agreement between the two sides, and hoped would put an end to the political crisis in the country and to pave a way for the presidential elections.

The following five point-consensus were recommended:

Term Extension:

The term extension should be left as the Guurti (Somaliland's Upper house) decided. They suggested that The Guurti will not extend another term if the elections does not take place in September. The said the legislation bodies should approve it.

Election Date:

The committee said the elections should take place on 27 September 2009, the campaign should be done before the month of Ramadan as a respect to the holly month. The electoral Commission must set a time-frame, ruling that the voter-registration database must be complete by July 27, 2009, to give enough time to organize a fair and free election.

The Committee also said the issue of the Electoral Commission to be expanded, changed or dismissed will be left for the three political parties.

Public Media:

The public media should be neutral to the parties and the opposition should get a fair time for their use of the media. The public properties like vehicles, finance, etc should not be used for one party's purpose only. They also suggested that a strong panel of experts should be created to manage it.

Political Freedom:

Parties should exercise their constitutional rights to have meetings, gatherings, demonstrations and any other activities that does not come against the law. They called the government to release all the prisoners arrested during the time two sides collided over their differences.

Code of Conduct:

Code of conduct should be prepared ahead of the elections and before the campaign starts.

After the press release, the two opposition parties held a joint press conference in the capital to put forward their position. Kulmiye and Ucid have both supported the mediation Committee's decision and recommendations  and called on the government to accept the mediation committee's recommendations.

If the government accepts the decision, this may put an end to Somaliland's backpedaling democracy, even though many Western countries; such as the United Kingdom have vowed to continue to support Somaliland's democratization.

Source:Somalilandpress