2002 Somaliland municipal elections

2002 Somaliland municipal election

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|  | 15 December 2002 |

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|  |  |  |

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Party  | UDUB | Peace, Unity, and Development Party  | For Justice and Development
Popular vote  | 179,389 | 83,158  | 49,444
Percentage  | 40.76% | 18.90%  | 11.24%

* * *

|  |  |
Party  | Sahan  | Hormood  | Asad
Popular vote  | 47,942  | 40,538  | 39,596
Percentage  | 10.89%  | 9.21%  | 9.00%

Politics of Somaliland

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Municipal elections were held across Somaliland on 15 December 2002. Six political associations fielded 2,368 candidates to contest 379 local council seats in nineteen of Somaliland's twenty-three electoral districts.[1]

Long queues of voters in the Somaliland municipal elections

Prior to these elections, local government only consisted of a mayor and a councillor both appointed by the Ministry of Interior by the recommendation of the President.[1] These elections would pave way for the establishment of popularly-elected local governments that were directly responsible to local constituencies.[citation needed]

## Political associations

[edit]

The Constitution of Somaliland stipulated that only three political parties could exist at any one time.[1] As a result, the three associations that gained the largest numbers of local council seats would become the official political parties and enjoyed exclusive legitimacy for the next ten years.[1] A political organisation had to achieve 20% of the vote in at least four of Somaliland's six regions in order to become a national party and contest presidential and parliamentary elections.[2]

The contenders that took part in this process included:[1][3]

* United Peoples' Democratic Party (UDUB) led by President Dahir Riyale Kahin
* Peace, Unity, and Development Party (Kulmiye) headed by Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud
* For Justice and Development (UCID) led by Faysal Ali Warabe
* Sahan led by Dr Mohamed Abdi Gaboose
* Asad led by Suleiman Mohamoud Adan
* Hormood led by Umar Ghalib

## Results

[edit]

Over 440,000 people took part in the country's first municipal elections.[4] Results were announced a week later by the National Electoral Commission, with UDUB, Kulmiye and UCID finishing as the top three parties.

Party| Votes| %

|
|

| United Peoples' Democratic Party| 179,389| 40.76
| Kulmiye| 83,158| 18.90
| UCID| 49,444| 11.24
| Sahan| 47,942| 10.89
| Hormood| 40,538| 9.21
| ASAD| 39,596| 9.00
Total| 440,067| 100.00
Source: African Elections Database

## Aftermath

[edit]

The elections were viewed largely as a success and was an essential step in the transition from a clan-based formed of governance to a democracy.[5]

Political associations that ranked fourth or lower ceased to exist.[5] Although Sahan passed the threshold of receiving 20% of the votes in at least four regions and UCID did not, it was decided that UCID's higher national vote share qualified it to become the third party, a controversial decision.[5][2]

Councillors from the associations that were dissolved were subsequently required to join one of the newly appointed national parties, UDUB, Kulmiye or UCID.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Hersi, Mohamed Farah (29 May 2015). "Confronting the Future of Somaliland's Democracy: Lessons from a Decade of Multi-partyism and the Way Forward". Africa Portal. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
2. ^ a b "2002 Local Elections in Somaliland". africanelections.tripod.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
3. ^ Jhazbhay, Iqbal (19–20 August 2010). "Civil Society & their role in Africa's struggle to deepen democracy: Experiences of Somaliland in the Horn" (PDF). African Participatory Democracy Conference, SACP.
4. ^ Woldemariam, Richard Bennet and Michael (11 July 2014). "Nurturing Democracy in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland's First Elections, 2002-2005". Nurturing Democracy in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland's First Elections, 2002-2005.
5. ^ a b c d Renders, Marleen (20 January 2012). Consider Somaliland: State-Building with Traditional Leaders and Institutions. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-22254-0.

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* e

Elections and referendums in Somaliland

Presidential elections|

* 1991
* 1993
* 1997
* 2003
* 2010
* 2017
* 2024

Parliamentary elections|

* 1959
* 1960
* 2005
* 2021
* 2026

Municipal elections|

* 2002
* 2012
* 2021

Party elections|

* 2024

Referendums|

* 2001

See also: Elections and referendums in Somalia
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