By: Abdikadir D. Askar, ASI Communications Lead
HARGEISA- The National Electoral Commission, the guardian of the country’s democratic process, unveiled a new website on Sunday to keep the public informed about progress on organising elections and their democratic rights to choose the people who lead them.
“This is another milestone in Somaliland’s democratic progress and shows that the NEC is keeping voters and the public at the forefront of its thinking,” said NEC Chairman Engineer Abdulqadir Imam Warsame.
The new website tracks all of Somaliland’s democratic elections since its independence and spells out the legal basis for the creation of the NEC and the work it carries out to ensure that elections are properly organised and held.
“Somaliland has a proud record on holding elections and can hold its head high on the peaceful transfer of power,” said the NEC Chairman. “Few other African countries can match our record on this.”
He pointed out that Somaliland has held seven democratic elections since the Constitutional referendum in 2001 and is one of very few countries in Africa where the Presidency has changed hands peacefully at the ballot box.
The website (www.slnec.com) was designed and built by the NEC with the support from Adam Smith International and funds from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.It spells out all the steps in the electoral cycle from the legal framework and voter education to the declaration of final results.
