Rageh Omaar: Somaliland -- Small Country, Big Election Result
[Rageh Omaar is a Mogadishu-born broadcaster whose family is from Somaliland]
In Africa this past week a completely peaceful presidential election was held. International observers said it met all the western standards for a free election. What's more, the incumbent president fully accepted the result the minute it was announced and handed over power to his successor and bitter political rival – and on accepting his victory, the president-elect thanked and congratulated the outgoing president for his services to his country.
What makes this election remarkable, and an important example not just to Africa but to the whole of the developing world – especially Muslim countries – is that it took place in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from the rest of Somalia 20 years ago, which doesn't get a penny of international assistance, and which hosts an estimated 600,000 refugees from the continuing civil war in the rest of Somalia....
And it could not have a come at a more poignant moment. This week marks the 50th anniversary of Somalia's independence. It is a tragedy for all Somalis, whether living in the stability of Somaliland or not, that what is left of Somalia now ranks as the world's most failed state.
Somaliland, which lies on the Horn of Africa in the north-western corner of Somalia, is not formally recognised by any country – but it is accepted as a de facto country by many nations and organisations who maintain embassies and representative offices in the capital, Hargeisa. It is peaceful, stable and has had several transfers of power and free elections in its 20-year history.
It has a particularly close connection with Britain, not just in the tens of thousands who live here who have family links to Somaliland(yes, people actually go on holiday to a part of Somalia), but also in the fact that for nearly 80 years, Somaliland was a British protectorate....
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
In Africa this past week a completely peaceful presidential election was held. International observers said it met all the western standards for a free election. What's more, the incumbent president fully accepted the result the minute it was announced and handed over power to his successor and bitter political rival – and on accepting his victory, the president-elect thanked and congratulated the outgoing president for his services to his country.
What makes this election remarkable, and an important example not just to Africa but to the whole of the developing world – especially Muslim countries – is that it took place in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from the rest of Somalia 20 years ago, which doesn't get a penny of international assistance, and which hosts an estimated 600,000 refugees from the continuing civil war in the rest of Somalia....
And it could not have a come at a more poignant moment. This week marks the 50th anniversary of Somalia's independence. It is a tragedy for all Somalis, whether living in the stability of Somaliland or not, that what is left of Somalia now ranks as the world's most failed state.
Somaliland, which lies on the Horn of Africa in the north-western corner of Somalia, is not formally recognised by any country – but it is accepted as a de facto country by many nations and organisations who maintain embassies and representative offices in the capital, Hargeisa. It is peaceful, stable and has had several transfers of power and free elections in its 20-year history.
It has a particularly close connection with Britain, not just in the tens of thousands who live here who have family links to Somaliland(yes, people actually go on holiday to a part of Somalia), but also in the fact that for nearly 80 years, Somaliland was a British protectorate....