Somaliland General Elections: A Nations Decision
Dear Timacade News,
Greetings!
Attached (also copies and pasted bellow) please find my
new article and publish it on your
esteemed website. As always, we gladly appreciate
your superb journalism and
wonderful
job.
Somaliland declared independence
from Somalia in 1991 following the outbreak of the war.
The regional administration, however, lacks
international recognition as an independent st
ate. Talks
between Somaliland and Somalia continued in early 2015,
but stalled in March amid disagreements between the two
countries and the fact Somalia is not ready to admit the
existence of Somaliland.
In May 2015, Somaliland’s
upper legislative chamber, the Guurti, announced that
presidential and parliamentary elections would be
postponed until 2017 and extended the current
gove rnment’s term by two years. This was allegedly owing
to the unpreparedness of the countr y’s national
elections committee. Incumbent President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo’s approval of this move was later
upheld by a court decision, officially delaying
elections – whi ch were postponed until March 2017.
Opposition parties expressed concern that the govern
ment
was delaying election preparations, especially voter
registration, in order to extend Silanyo’s term but
later on the opposition together with the current
government accepted the delay for a logic matters.
The National Electoral
Commission (NEC) has adopted a well-coordinated and
improved sys t em of IRIS biometric technology which was
used for the first time in 2016-2017 voter regist
ration
in Somaliland. The technology used by NEC to register
eligible voters has successfully identified and
disallowed voters that attempted to register more than
one time in all the districts and regions of the
country. The technology of IRIS biometric system has
replaced the fingerprint biometric system that has been
exercised in 2008-2009 voter registration, which was
used only for the presidential elections of 2010.
Let me in a very short way
explain the advantage and disadvantage of this new
system in Somaliland;
•
Advantages
•
Each biometric
technology has its pros and cons. Their
respective performanc
e must take into account
the effort required to capture biometric data,
the lev el of intrusiveness, the cost, and the
degree of precision and reliability in the
ve rification of voters’ identity. The
environment in which the technology is going to
be used is also paramount to appreciate the true
value of the various biome tric technologies.
•
Iris Biometric
Technology has:
•
Great quality
information
•
Excellent
reliability
•
Real twins
identifiable
2.
Disadvantages
•
No matter which
biometric system is used, the introduction of
new technologies in electoral processes requires
addressing a series of issues.
•
The technology must be
adapted to the environment in which it is used.
•
The new technology
must be suitable, that is to say compatible with
the environment in which it is implemented.
There are several criteria to assess the
appropriateness of introducing technical
innovations into the electoral process in a
given environment.
•
The suitability of the
introduction of biometric technology is defined
by:
•
Its
cost-effectiveness,
•
Its easiness with
regard to its daily management
•
Its modularity,
flexibility and interoperability,
•
Its
standardization,
•
Its permanence.
•
Using Iris technology
alone may prove to be difficult
•
It should be used with
other forms of identification or as an
alternative for people who cannot use
fingerprint recognition
•
There are risks for
using this technology if the country has lack of
finance, security and effective operation
•
Other biometric
technology is already used around the world and
has proved effective.
In conclusion Somaliland’s
current government together with the opposition parties
and the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the
nation of Somaliland are committed to give this nation a
transparent, free and fair elections god willing and
prove to the rest of the world another lesson in
democracy and peaceful elections.
Many voters share the
candidates' and president's hopes for statehood and
expect the elec
tion to bring Somaliland more
respect from the International Community.
Let us not only make this
election means a bridge to international recognition but
as well le ts show the world how this nation respects and honor having a peaceful election, coherency between the
nation and the finest practicing of democracy.
Thanks for assisting your people.
Nimo Osman Abdi
The author has obtained BA in LLB from University
of Hargeisa, MA in International Relations from
University of Hargeisa (UoH). She can be reached at: nimaosman.abdi@gmail.com
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