In a panel discussion organized by Academy for Peace and Development (APD), Somaliland’s leading Academics and intellectuals on Tuesday debated the main impediments to holding the upcoming House of Representatives election.
The discussion entitled ‘Panel discussion and presentation of survey finding on the upcoming elections of Somaliland House of Representatives’ was mainly centered on the contentious issue of regional seat allocation.
In his opening remarks, Academy for Peace and Development’s Director, Mohamed Farah Hirsi said: “The main purpose of this meeting is the presentation of APD’s survey finding on the upcoming elections of Somaliland House of Representatives and to gather your opinions and expertise towards this issue. Debating the same 2004 debate fifteen years later shows that democracy hasn’t yet taken root in the country”.
Expressing his opinion, the deputy chairman of the opposition justice and Welfare party (UCID) Prof. Kasim Sheikh Ibrahim Tubec who hails from Awdal region stated that the procedure of allocating lower house of parliament seats should be clan-based.
The first and last lower house of parliament election was held in 2005 where it was conducted on the basis of allocation of seats to the six regions on a pro rata formula based on the 1960 Somaliland legislative election.
Also speaking at the meeting, Sool region politician and Former Minister of Justice in president Riyaale’s government Mr. Ahmed Ali Asowe stated that the procedure for the parliamentary seat allocation should be based on clans.
Other prominent speakers of the event include, Retired BBC reporter, Ahmed Saed Egge, veteran politician Abdilahi Iman Direwal and other notable figures.
About Academy for Peace and Development (APD)
The Academy for Peace and Development (APD) was established in 1998 as a research institute in collaboration with Interpeace. The Academy for Peace and Development (APD) is legally registered as an organization under the Ministry of National Planning and Development.Since its inception, APD core activities have mainly focused in peace-building using Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The organization has brought together representatives from different sectors of society to identify priorities in the process of rebuilding Somaliland. The Academy has been instrumental in facilitating dialogue on issues such as peacebuilding, and good governance.APD is committed to promote democracy and consensus decision-making at the policy level by encouraging and supporting the participation of citizens in the affairs of their lives. In this regard, the goal of the Academy is to empower Somalil and communities to adopt peaceful changes by providing a neutral venue to identify their issues and set priorities for response.
