Taiwan to donate US$2 million to Somaliland National Election Commission
Taiwan working to strengthen Somaliland’s democracy
Taiwan has pledged to donate US$2 million (NT$63.26 million) to Somaliland’s National Election Commission (NEC) in support of its upcoming presidential election on Nov. 13.
Taiwan’s representative to Somaliland, Allen Lou, said on Sunday (Sept. 29), “Taiwan is proud to collaborate with the Somaliland Government to advance transparency, accountability, fairness, and trust of the 2024 Somaliland election.” Lou added that Somaliland is a “beacon of democracy in East Africa,” just as Taiwan is a beacon of democracy in East Asia.
The representative pointed out Taiwan also donated US$2 million to Somaliland’s 2021 parliamentary and local government election to purchase 2,500 sets of the Iris Biometric Voter Verification System.
The systems will be used in six cities during November’s election, Lou said.
Earlier on Sunday, Lou presided over the signing ceremony of a code of conduct for Somaliland’s political parties and associations.
“Freedom and democracy constitute the fundamental and common values that connect Taiwan and Somaliland to the international community,” Taiwan’s Somaliland office said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
NEC Chair Musa Hassan Yousuf visited Taiwan in January for a week-long trip to gain a deeper understanding of the electoral system. Yousuf met with then-Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and stopped at the Central Election Commission and other institutions to learn more about Taiwan’s electoral system, election operations, and citizens’ political participation.
The East African nation has three political parties, including the Somaliland National Party, the Kulmiye Peace, Unity, and Development Party, and the Justice and Welfare Party.
