The Somaliland Times is pleased to publish here a summary of the observations made by Riemke Rip and Annemieke de Wit, two Dutch women who witnessed Somaliland's municipal as well as presidential elections held on Dec 15, 2002 and April 14, 2003 respectively. The two ladies who were among a team of international observers from more than 14 countries have dedicated their report on the elections to "Edna and Amran, the first female minister and director general in Somaliland":

FOREWORD

Considering our special relation with Somaliland and Somalilanders and realizing the importance of observing the elections in Somaliland we found it an honour to be invited to witness the District Council Elections in December 2002 and the Presidential Elections in April 2003. "The very fact that vigorous campaigning is taking place peacefully in Somaliland for elections is a remarkable feat in itself, given recent history. That this is happening despite the lack of recognition reflects the go-it-alone approach that had marked Somaliland's emergence from the political ashes." - Rakiya A. Omaar (Somaliland Times ).

It is time for the international community to take responsibility and support the democratising process in Somaliland by recognizing the of Somaliland.

Annemieke de Wit,
Riemke Rip

THE PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

The Law of the Elections states that electioneering campaigns will start 30 days before and end 48 hours before election day. Campaigning for the Presidential Elections took place through public meetings, party propaganda slogans and other elections campaign illustrations for example on buildings, clothes and cars. The campaigning stopped in time. On election day there was neither campaigning in general, nor in or near the polling stations.

OBSERVATION ON POLLING DAY

In three districts of Sool and Sanaag it was not possible to vote due to security problems.

On Election Day it was not allowed to travel from one district to another to prevent double voting.

The international observers from different countries visited in total about 300 polling stations. In general their observations correspond with our observations on Election Day.

We visited 20 polling stations: 7 in Hargeisa, 13 in the rural area and villages of Hargeisa District.

The general atmosphere at all polling stations was open, peaceful and quiet. People were excited, enthusiastic, motivated (sometimes waiting in long queues). Everywhere we were received friendly by the staff of the polling stations and we were able to observe the whole process of voting in all stations.

At 6.00 a.m. we started our observations at the opening of a polling station in Hargeisa. At that time people were already waiting in long lines. The election staff and the three party representatives were present, the domestic observer came later. The two ballot boxes were opened and the chairman showed to everybody present that the ballot boxes were empty. The box containing the election materials was sealed. The chairman broke the seal, opened the box and showed all the materials to the other staff members, the party representatives and observers. The (1200) ballot papers were inspected and serial numbers of ballot papers were recorded by the secretary and party representatives. The voting started at 6.20 a.m.

The polling stations in the rural area and villages as well as in Hargeisa were easy to find: in most places the people were waiting in two queues (one for the men and one for the women) to go inside the polling station. There was no intimidation of voters, nor general agitation and disturbance.

All of the observed polling stations had a staff of 4 persons. In 15 polling stations were representatives of all three parties, in 5 polling stations the representative of UCID was not present (in 3 out of 4 polling stations in Wajaale, a city on the Somaliland/Ethiopian border; in 1 of the 2 polling stations in Kala Beyd and in the polling station of Lokaor). In only 1 polling station there was no domestic observer (Arabsiyo B) and in 3 polling stations in Hargeisa were 2 domestic observers. There were no unauthorised people in the polling stations. In only 1 polling station the staff and observers were all men, in the other stations one or two women were in the electoral staff (in 1 station a women was chairman) or among the observers.

Security forces were outside the polling stations helping the people queuing and entering the polling stations orderly and one at a time. Sometimes one or two persons of the security force were helping inside the polling station, checking the hands of the person who entered the polling station on ink (to prevent double voting) and directing people inside the polling station. This was done in a open and friendly way.

Especially when there were a lot of people waiting and the flow through the station was slowing down some polling stations got sometimes a little overcrowded. The staff in the polling station was extra alert that every person had the possibility and time to vote carefully.

Posters in the polling stations displayed information for voters about secrecy of voting, one person one vote, no arms allowed etc. No information was displayed in the form of pictures, while 80% of the people is illiterate.

In one polling station the chairman explained to every voter the ballot paper, pointing out the symbols for the parties and the place where to mark the paper. In the other stations the chairman would asked the voter if he/she understood the ballot paper and was able to cast his/her vote. If the person needed help this was arranged in different ways. In some polling stations the chairman ask the person to say the party of his/her choice and the chairman would mark the ballot paper and show the marked paper to the party and domestic observers. In other polling stations the chairman would direct the person to the representative of the party of the person's choice. This representative and the person would go into the voting booth and the representative would mark the ballot paper.

Although every polling station should have two small rooms that will enable every voter to cast his/her vote in secret, this was not the case in most polling stations. However in almost all polling stations the staff had tried in different ways to create a "private place" for example to screen a corner of the room with curtains. Only in one polling station was no screened place, people were directed to a table in the corner of the room. Voting outside "the booth" took place in some polling stations when the person needed help to cast his/her vote. This was done in a open and transparent way. The voters, staff and observers did not mind the break with secrecy.

The polling stations in Wajaale run already out of ballot papers at midday. Later in the afternoon we visited two polling stations in Hargeisa that also had not enough ballot papers. The voting had been suspended while waiting for new ballot papers.

Some minor incidents occurred: a person tried to vote for a second time and was sent away after the discovery of ink on his little finger and at another polling station a girl was sent away because the chairman doubted her age (she was wearing a sweater under her dress to look bigger). No major problems or incidents were witnessed.

OBSERVATION OF COUNTING

At 16.00 p.m. we visited again the polling station in Hargeisa where we observed the opening. There was still a small queue of women waiting to cast their vote. We were back at 18.00 p.m. to observe the closing. The voting was ended around 17.00 p.m. due to lack of ballot papers (the staff received already 600 extra ballot papers that afternoon). At 19.00 p.m. the counting started. Sitting on mats in a room lit by two gas lamps, with heavy rain and lightning's outside, the door locked and security forces waiting in front of the door, one of the staff members opened the ballot box. One by one he gave the ballot papers to the chairman, who opened it, loudly declared the marked party and showed the ballot paper to the staff members, the three party representatives and de domestic observers. After everybody agreed the ballot paper was stuck in the envelope of that party. When a ballot paper seemed to be invalidated (for example because is was not clear which party is voted, more than one party is voted, the mark is not in the right spot, there is writing on the ballot paper) the staff and observers discussed each case till they agreed. The invalidated ballot papers were also stuck in a special envelope.

RESULTS OF ELECTIONS

On 14 April 2003, 800.000 Somalilanders voted for a president. Compared to the turnout at the District Council Elections last December this is about 2 times as much (440.067 voters in December 2002).

On Saturday the 19th April the NEC announced the election results on temporary basis:
42,08% UDUB
42,07% KULMIYE
15,85% UCID.
The difference between UDUB and KULMIYE is 80 votes. At the latest on the 8th May the Supreme Court will announce the final results.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The elections were peaceful, orderly and the polling was undertaken in a disciplined manner.
2. The NEC succeeded in managing the whole electoral process.
3. The people Somalilandwere free to caste their votes without intimidation or undue influence.
4. The political party observers and domestic observers were satisfied with the manner in which the voting and vote counting was undertaken.
5. The ballot counting was very transparent.
6. Problems during the polling day were resolved by the polling station staff, the domestic and political party observers with maturity and self-discipline.
7. Problems on polling day were of technical and procedural nature and due to lack of experience, capacity and funds.
8. Participation of women in voting seemed to be equal to men.

1. Voter registration and identification is necessary. This will only be possible when the basic population administration is set up in Somaliland.
2. Voter education is a permanent necessity. "Political parties and local NGO's should raise the political awareness of their constituents and help them to keep politicians to their election promises. It would be a huge mistake as voter education becomes like so much else Somaliland, a subject in the same small groups meeting in workshops in hotels of Hargeisa. The wider public whose welfare had been ignored for the most part, will continue to be shut out, and the political process, on which our collective future depends, will make little progress." Rakiya A. Omaar
3. Information at polling stations should be more suitable for illiterate persons.
4. Further training of staff and observers in polling stations to ensure uniformity in the way polling stations are organised and polling is managed.
5. Reviewing voting procedures to ensure that all voters are able to cast their vote in secret.

Alkmaars SteunPunt Vluchtelingen, Postbus 330, 1800 AH Alkmaar, The Netherlands, tel: 031-72-5121700, fax: 031-72-5113322, e-mail: aspv@planet.nl