Somaliland’s ruling Kulmiye party and the UCID (Justice and Welfare) opposition party have arrived at an agreement on the electoral process ahead of the upcoming national elections, after a standoff that has stretched for several months.
During a meeting held in Hargeisa city on Tuesday, the two major political parties announced they had unanimously ironed out differences in most of the contentious areas. President Bihi Muse’s party and the Justice and Welfare party agreed on a raft of issues including, that the local council and parliamentary elections be held on the 13th of December, 2019, as earlier on scheduled and that the current electoral commission should go ahead with the voter registration exercise and preparations for the local council and parliamentary polls.
The two parties have also agreed on a formula of nominating individuals to the seven-member electoral commission to be instituted by the 1st of August, 2019. The Kulmiye and Justice and Welfare parties have further undertaken to form an independent task force, which will oversee preparations for the elections. The two political entities also called on the current National Electoral Commission (NEC) to avail the election timetable as soon as possible.
The move by the Kulmiye and the Justice and Welfare parties leaves out the main opposition party, Wadani, out of the pre-poll arrangement. Wadani has been accused by other political players of being an obstacle to preparation of the polls. Wadani party has not changed its stance of demanding for changes in the membership of the current electoral commission. Wadani suspended cooperation with NEC altogether since the 2017 presidential polls.
