On May 25, 2023, Puntland State held a historic election. Puntlanders in 30 districts lined up in
the election lane even before the election started. It has been 50 years since Puntlanders last
voted in an election based on one person, one vote. The Puntland constitution called for a
transition from the old system, where traditional elders selected council candidates, to an
election based on one person, one vote. It took more than 24 years for this election, during
which constituents could vote for a party whose list of candidates they believed deserved to
represent them, to come to fruition.
This
demonstrated how the people of Puntland had grown tired of the old system,
which they deemed unfair. Under that system, many qualified youth leaders were
not chosen simply because their subclan had held the position the last time.
Those selected by the elders might not even be qualified for the job, resulting
in constituents not getting the outcomes they expected. Furthermore, since the
constituents did not elect these representatives, they couldn’t hold them
accountable for their performance.
The
Puntland people knew that their living conditions would improve if they could
elect individuals they deemed qualified to lead them. The long lines, with
people waiting for more than three hours in the heat, showcased Puntlanders’
commitment to achieving this goal that they had been eagerly awaiting, and they
deserve congratulations.
However,
this milestone would have been even better if all 33 districts originally
scheduled for voting had participated in this historic election. All
Puntlanders, from Bossasso to Kalkayo, would have celebrated today. The
international community, who had come to Garowe, would have been able to
observe and document the election live. The president of Puntland, Said
Abdulahi Deni, would have welcomed representatives of the international community
to Villa Garowe, where they could have monitored the election process.
Unfortunately,
all of this was prevented due to disagreements among politicians, who
prioritized their personal interests over those of the Puntland people. The
issue between these politicians centered on the election process, with
President Deni feeling that they were
impeding progress and attempting to revert to the old system for presidential
elections.
President
Deni decided to proceed when seven out of the nine parties agreed with his
plan. The other two parties and the opposition group believed that President
Deni was rushing the process to complete the local election before the
parliamentary session in June. They suspected he would later request an
extension to finish the process.
These
issues could have been resolved through negotiation and compromise for the sake
of the Puntland people. Both the Somali people and the international community
called for the parties to come to the negotiating table, but both sides ignored
these calls. Matters escalated and became personal, with each group devising
plans to defeat the other, forgetting what was truly important to the people of
Puntland—an election taking place in all 33 districts as originally scheduled.
The
opposition’s plan was to ensure that no election in which they weren’t included
would occur in Garowe, the capital. They believed that if President Deni
recognized their power in Garowe, he would be compelled to negotiate.
On
the other hand, it was said that President Deni had his own plan as well. The
president had preplanned that if the opposition refused to go along with his
plan, he would ensure that the people of the Nugal region turned against those
individuals, to the point of viewing them as outcasts. This is why it was
mentioned that the president not only prevented the election from taking place
in Garowe, where those individuals were located, but also decided to halt the
process in the two other districts from which those individuals hailed, in
order to increase the pressure on them.
Both
groups considered themselves winners because the government was able to show
all the people in the three districts that the reason the election didn’t occur
was because of those individuals who
lived among them. The message was clear: If they wanted an election, the people
should stop those individuals.
Meanwhile,
the opposition group felt victorious for preventing an election in which they
were not included from taking place in the capital, Garowe.
All
these issues could have been resolved through negotiation if both parties had
been sincere about the election process. There is no issue that cannot be
solved when there is something more significant than individual interests at
stake. Such a negotiation would have required a willingness to compromise for
the greater good of the people.
Meanwhile,
the people of Garowe are in shock and cannot comprehend what is happening. They
wonder why President Deni left the city on the most important day of the
election and why the government did not arrest the individuals accused of
causing the disruption. Others question why the government stopped the election
in the other two districts if those opposing the president were only in Garowe.
Even a woman in the protest group remarked that she cannot understand why the
Minister of Interior, whose residence is in Garowe, was able to vote in
Bossasso if it wasn’t preplanned for government staff to vacate the city on
Election Day.
May
25, 2023, will be recorded in the history of Puntland as a historic yet
sorrowful day, a day on which individual politicians prioritized their personal
interests over those of Puntland.
Democracy
is not about one person forcing others to accept their way or hit the road. It
entails coming together with different ideas on the table and reaching an
agreement in which those at the table don’t get everything they want, but make
compromises for the sake of the people they represent.
To
move forward, the people of Puntland cannot afford another day of leaders who
only understand winning when they defeat their opponents. It is time for both
groups to realize that a victory of one group over another is not better than a
win for all of Puntland’s people. The only way Puntland can transition from the
old system, which all stakeholders agreed upon, is to develop a system in which
all stakeholders agree on the process.
President
Deni is the leader the people elected, and he should not view people with
different ideas as enemies he wants to defeat. Instead, he should engage in
dialogue, seek compromise, and ultimately strive for a victory that benefits
all the people who elected him.
By:Mohamed Abdiqafar Haji Hussein
Mohabdhus@gmail.com
Atlanta,
Georgia.
