Somaliland hailed for polls

2005-10-03 18:28

Hargeisa - International poll observers have expressed satisfaction with the conduct of last week's parliamentary elections in the Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland, deeming them free and fair.

Steve Kibble, who led a team of poll monitors, said: "This is great achievement for the democratisation of Somaliland.

"We were pleased by the manner in which the election was managed by Somaliland National Election Committee."

He said: "There were small shortcomings, which should be improved on, but nothing which could compromise the outcome of the election in anyway has taken place."

Despite some complaints of poll irregularities by opposition parties and the use of state media by the ruling Union of Democrats (UDUB) party for campaigning, Kibble said the elections were largely fair.

'Media used by the ruling UDUB'

He said: "More complaints were raised by the opposition before the election, but most of the cases were not credible.

"However, the government-owned media was largely used by the ruling UDUB."

The two opposition parties, Kulmiye (Solidarity) and UCID (Justice and Welfare), had earlier accused the UDUB of using public funds for campaigns, but Kibble said many of their complaints were unsubstantiated.

Voters cast their ballots on Thursday in Somaliland's third multi-party elections since political pluralism was introduced in 2000 and authorities hoped the polls would bring the region long-denied international recognition.

Somaliland seceded from mainland Somalia in 1991 after the ouster of Somalia's strongman Mohamed Siad Barre and had enjoyed relative peace, while the rest of the country had disintegrated into lawlessness dominated by inter-clan fighting.

- AFP