The International Community has provided substantial support to this electoral process on the ba sis of Somaliland’s commitments to timely, concurrent Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The imminent and successful completion of the voter registration process determines a clear time line for the polls in March 2017, which we cannot afford to change. Donors have invested heavily in the electoral preparation and do not want to see this commitment undermined and depleted by continuous delays. The International Community will not be able to fund the additional costs that the decision to delay the Parliamentary elections will incur, the burden of which will therefore reg rettably fall on the Somaliland people. The International Community
agrees that Somaliland reconciliation is an important objective. We
call on the President to urgently set out a clear process, with
timelines, to achieve a fair seat allo cation formula and political
representation for all Somalilanders in the election of their
Parliament. We reiterate that fixed term Parliamentary elections now
would still enable both reforms in the parliamentary seat allocation
and a reconciliation process to take place during the Parliamentary
term. We therefore urge the President of Somaliland to reconsider
his decision, and to hold the Pr esidential and Parliamentary
elections together in March 2017. ON BEHALF OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY [US, UK, EU, UN, SWEDEN, DENMARK] AND THE SOMALILAND
ELECTIONS DONOR WORKING GROUP
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