Kulmiye Convention: A Democratic Milestone in Somaliland?
Kulmiye is about to raise the par in Somaliland politics. In a major democratic exercise, the party is holding its convention on the 10th of November and will elect its nominee for the presidency in 2017. President Silanyo upon his arrival from a trip abroad announced the nomination of the party will be decided in a fair and democratic competition. The campaign for the post is heating up with four candidates already in the race.
This is the first time an internal party leadership contest is being held in Somaliland, a lot are on the stake for both Kulmiye and the country. For Kulmiye, pragmatic interests, as well as symbolic ones, are on the stake. Given the free and fair manner, the nomination is being conducted, the party will be more likely to retain the supporters of the different candidates. However, the far more pressing issue is the survival of the party itself, after all no political party in the county has yet been successful in choosing its next leader. For instance, UDUB failed to choose another leader after they lost power and diminished as a sequence. On the other hand, UCID didn’t bother at all. The founder/Chairman handpicked the presidential candidate without giving up his chairmanship, and that way drove away some of the most promising politicians of the party.
Symbolically, it will be a magnificent score for his legacy if president Silanyo hands over the reins to his successor in a democratic fashion and leaves the party intact. Founding and leading a party to power and then solidifying its base that it can endure after him is an excellent way for him to distinguish himself. The President’s aides seem to be well aware of the legacy stake in this transitional process. Dhuhul, the former, spokesman of the president, said in a statement that the president’s legacy depends on the unity and extension of stability of the party and country.
For the rest of the country who are not Kulmiye supporters, this represents a precedent and an organizational development in our political parties that command for further encouragement. This may herald the beginning of the formation of enduring political parties with deep roots that will outlive their founders’ political careers. Furthermore, the internal democracy will enable more voices to be heard, and in effect dissuade the unnecessary formations of political parties.
For this milestone in democracy in Somaliland to succeed, Kulmiye must ensure the fairness and freedom of voting. First things first, fair play must be guaranteed. What that means is the chairman of the party and nomination seeker and his aides should take their hands off the election process. The nomination candidate MP Ahmed Abdi Nour was right when he demanded Bihi’s supporters to cease all their works relating to organizing the convention, for the apparent conflict of interest. The second thing is that the electoral pool – that’s Central Council, must be transparent and can’t be rigged. That can be ensured if the central council memberships are being finalized and fixed before the beginning of the race. Otherwise, there’s really no point.
Will Kulmiye come out of that convention hall triumphant and become the first in Somaliland to reach this democratic milestone? Well, we’ll watch and see.
Original publication
This is the first time an internal party leadership contest is being held in Somaliland, a lot are on the stake for both Kulmiye and the country. For Kulmiye, pragmatic interests, as well as symbolic ones, are on the stake. Given the free and fair manner, the nomination is being conducted, the party will be more likely to retain the supporters of the different candidates. However, the far more pressing issue is the survival of the party itself, after all no political party in the county has yet been successful in choosing its next leader. For instance, UDUB failed to choose another leader after they lost power and diminished as a sequence. On the other hand, UCID didn’t bother at all. The founder/Chairman handpicked the presidential candidate without giving up his chairmanship, and that way drove away some of the most promising politicians of the party.
Symbolically, it will be a magnificent score for his legacy if president Silanyo hands over the reins to his successor in a democratic fashion and leaves the party intact. Founding and leading a party to power and then solidifying its base that it can endure after him is an excellent way for him to distinguish himself. The President’s aides seem to be well aware of the legacy stake in this transitional process. Dhuhul, the former, spokesman of the president, said in a statement that the president’s legacy depends on the unity and extension of stability of the party and country.
For the rest of the country who are not Kulmiye supporters, this represents a precedent and an organizational development in our political parties that command for further encouragement. This may herald the beginning of the formation of enduring political parties with deep roots that will outlive their founders’ political careers. Furthermore, the internal democracy will enable more voices to be heard, and in effect dissuade the unnecessary formations of political parties.
For this milestone in democracy in Somaliland to succeed, Kulmiye must ensure the fairness and freedom of voting. First things first, fair play must be guaranteed. What that means is the chairman of the party and nomination seeker and his aides should take their hands off the election process. The nomination candidate MP Ahmed Abdi Nour was right when he demanded Bihi’s supporters to cease all their works relating to organizing the convention, for the apparent conflict of interest. The second thing is that the electoral pool – that’s Central Council, must be transparent and can’t be rigged. That can be ensured if the central council memberships are being finalized and fixed before the beginning of the race. Otherwise, there’s really no point.
Will Kulmiye come out of that convention hall triumphant and become the first in Somaliland to reach this democratic milestone? Well, we’ll watch and see.
Original publication
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