Somaliland: A Communiqué From the Kulmiye Party

Dr. Mohamed A. Omar

In the run up to the upcoming presidential election, Kulmiye party supporters in the Diaspora and members of the party leadership have held a conference in London on 24 January 09 to discuss some of the political, economic and social issues in Somaliland today. This was part of Kulmiye´s consultation process with respect to these national challenges. Here is a communiqué from the conference.

The conference calls on all the political parties in Somaliland, the Parliament, the National Election Commission (NEC) and the International stakeholders to stick to the election time table scheduled on 29 March 2009, and to avoid any delay.

We urge the Somaliland government to stop undermining the work of the NEC members and allow them to undertake their duties independently. The NEC will however benefit from the support of independent and international partners in fulfilling their responsibilities effectively.

We call on the President of Somaliland, Mr. Dahir Rayaale, to stop interfering in the affairs of the Upper House (The Guurti) and his unlawful attempts to influence the internal processes of the work of the House.

The conference welcomes Kulmiye´s significant contribution to strengthening Somaliland´s international relations. The party leader´s recent trip to Kenya has particularly lifted Somaliland´s position in the region.

The conference calls on the African states and the other international communities to recognize Somaliland. We believe that Somaliland can, then, play a major role in resolving some of the prolonged political instabilities in the region.

Kulmiye will develop and improve Somaliland´s political, economic and security relations with the neighboring countries including Ethiopia and Djibouti.

We condemn the government´s unlawful arrest of KULMIYE politicians. The latest victims of Rayaale´s unconstitutional security laws are Abdirashid Duale Qambi and Ahmed Abdi Gadhle who had been held in prison without charges.

On the economic and social challenges, Kulmiye will promote market principles, open trade and investment, and effectively regulate financial markets, innovation and entrepreneurship that are essential for economic growth, employment, and poverty reduction.

We believe that a broader policy response is needed, based on closer macroeconomic cooperation, to encourage growth, avoid negative spillovers and support small companies.

We will strengthen financial transparency, including introducing required disclosure on complex financial products and ensuring complete and accurate disclosure by firms and the government of their books.

The government´s existing trade contracts with foreign and national firms will be subject to scrutiny to make sure that the contracts are handelled in accordance with the law.

We pledge to strengthen our regulatory regimes, prudential oversight, and ensure that all financial markets are regulated or subject to oversight, as appropriate to their circumstances.

We are committed to addressing other critical challenges such as food security, basic health, education, the rule of law, and the fight against poverty and terrorism

Dr. Mohamed A Omar

Kulmiye Foreign Affairs Secretary