Two elections in two weekends...
in two different countries... a bit too much!
HE HSM 2.0 is back and Somalia is on the move... Somali Heshis Ah, Dunida Heshis La Ah. 15 May 2022, I was in Perth, West Australia where I watched the Somali presidential election proceedings. And this was my reaction then.
Two weeks ago I wrote a short piece about the Somali election, see here and here. Then a week later on the 21st of May 2022, I was involved in the Australian federal election see here and I have learned a lot about the mechanics of elections, the foundation of all functioning democracies.
It would be an unfair comparison and would serve no reasonable purpose, to compare elections in Somalia and Australia, but as a Somali-Australian it was hard not to reflect on the different stages, processes and modalities followed in the Australian elections with the intention of learning from this and sharing the knowledge gained with my friends in Somalia.
We have had our share of elections since 1956 see below and for more about this, please visit here. In fact democracy and elections are not new to Somalis of my age and there is a lot of information in the literature and books were written about this. For starters, see …Somalis as Africa’s First Democrats: Premier Abdirazak H. Hussein and President Aden A. Osman
Anyway here is a summary of our initial democratic efforts:
Then we had the coup we had to have… and elections (if that is the correct word) started to look like this:
Then it got even worse… Said Barre’s 1969 coup finally led to the disintegration of Somalia as a nation-state. In fact from July 1992 to 27 August 2000, the United Nations declared Somalia a country "without a government." The internationally recognized Transitional National Government (TNG) which was convened in August 2000, had little control over the nation, which was mostly controlled by rival warlords and clans, and even the so-called pan-Somali governmental movement, known as the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC). Eventually the factions of the TNG and the SRRC were reconciled, and a new united movement - the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) - was formed in late 2004.
Now Somalia is back, slowly but surely. There are challenges ahead, but we are learning and hopefully with the latest election, that previous mistakes will be corrected, lessons learnt will be applied. For a brief overview of the selections and elections over the last 20 plus years, see table below.
It was very encouraging to hear/read the new president’s commitment to one person one vote (1P1V). It was also interesting to note that the former president mentioned in his handover speech the ID project that he had initiated, and which will be an important part of the move towards 1P1V. Many Somalis rightly assume that this important ID project that was mentioned in the presidential hand-over speech must have already been completed, since Pakistan and Somalia have forged a collaboration for a $10.5 million grant to provide technical assistance for developing the Somali National Identification System, see here and here.
The Somali 4.5 based selection/elections are nowhere near perfect and are a clear insult to the intelligence of the Somali people. HE HSM 2.0 the re-elected Somali president knows what needs to be done to cross this ugly bridge. To achieve 1P1V is a massive project and the sooner it starts the better the chances of a successful implementation. Educating the MPs and the government bureaucrats will be an important step in this endeavour. Steve Liddle, a New Zealand researcher and I have developed an online education site, the Somali School of Government that can be helpful in this area. To access it, visit here.
The patience and tolerance of the Somali people have recently been tested by the previous president, and understandably expectations are now at their highest while trust in government institutions is at its lowest. Hence, the need for new ideas, and innovative solutions to tackle urgent crises; drought, food insecurity and the ongoing Al-Shabaab threats. At the same time there needs to be forward planning to engage the fast moving globalised, tightly integrated and increasingly dangerous world.
Hussein (the former diplomat) and I will resume our weekly post soon. In the meantime, comments and feedback are welcome.
All the best for elections, Mohamed. And thanks for summary.
In Somali politics, any election/selection process that does not engage in a shootout is progress. Let process continue…little improvement here and there.
I am not sure if HSM 2.0 will be any different than HSM 1.0. It is not that he is inherently a bad leader, but the environment that he needs to function in is toxic. He also has made too many compromises to be where he is now; constraints that will not allow him govern more effectively. We wish his administration the best.