KULMIYE :AT THE CROSS - ROADS OF CONFUSION

For the past few days the airwaves became the modus operandi over Kulmiye’s latest political manoeuvres. First, the chairman of Kulmiye party wasted no time in offering his heart felt condolences to the dissident majority that boycotted the final day of the party’s Central Committee Convention at Burao. Then came Ahmed Ali Adami’s bombshell: “The outcome is illegitimate, unethical, and an affront to all democratic principles.” stated Mr. Adami. He further stated that, "the results came out of manipulative tactics and vote rigging."

These graphic details underscore the explosiveness of the diametrically opposing views of the two camps. The long term survival of Kulmiye as a stable and a viable institution is under a huge question mark. For the Chairman of the party this is a career ending crisis and the only honourable way out is a permanent exit from all active politics.

Unable to come to a compromise acceptable to the two factions over the modalities of electing the Vice-president, one hundred and seven delegates walked out of the conference hall. While intermediaries were busy to work out a solution, those who remained in the conference voted for the party’s future presidential and vice-presidential candidates without the necessary quorum according to the interviews of the dissident group.

The symbolic significance of the politically dead is two-fold:
First of all, the party is re-inventing itself to adapt to the current political climate-Time for change. Secondly, and to complement the re-invention, the party needs to discard, purge, or neutralize those perceived as radical elements. The re-invention and elimination of the excess ballast boomeranged and the damage is beyond control. However, as the situation unfolds, the irreconcilable positions are unlikely to soften up anytime soon. Come hell or high water, it is my way or the highway versus do not bet on it this time Mr. Chairman; puts a damper on the party’s chance to run a winnable campaign in the upcoming election.

In the merchant marine the cargo vessels show what is termed as Plimsoll Marks or the Load Line on the side. The Load Lines are lettered as follows:

TF- Tropical Fresh Water; F- Fresh Water; T-Tropical Seawater; S-Summer Temperate Sea Water; W- Winter Temperate Sea Water; WNA- Winter North Atlantic. This is so because a ship’s buoyancy is a function of water density- comparatively, Fresh water density is 1gm/cubic centimeter and Sea water displacement is 1.025 gm/cubic centimeter; hence, the tonnage is adjusted accordingly.

By extension Kulmiye party’s change of course is nothing but an adaptation to the political winds of change currently prevailing in Somaliland. It has been said time and again that those who fail to learn from their past mistakes, tend to fall into the same trap. As a society we deny to acknowledge our shortcomings, past or present; at the end it is rendezvous with fait accompli. The internal chaos bedeviling the party started at the March 29th -31st convention. Although the event was billed as the mother of all democratic conference, the outcome fell short of all expectations.

The current stalemate is a carry-over from the party's convention in Hargeisa. First of all, the contentious issue of representation and the delegate selection process was never addressed in a transparent manner. Without first submitting for general discussion, the party chairman demanded the approval of a very controversial and a doctored version of the party’s bye-laws and constitution.
The matter exploded on the second day of the proceedings. Senior party officials expressed their deep concern about the undemocratic structural changes and the consequences of delegating so much authority in the hands of the chairman.

Unfortunately, the dissenting opinions and the suggested adjustments were never accommodated. Mohamed Kahin shocked the sequestered assembly with an outburst of a very abusive and combative language. Then the Chairman went on a verbal outrage and attempted to grab the microphone from Mr. Abdul Aziz Mohamed Samale, the chairman of the proceedings.

The media took close up clips of an enraged Chairman arguing with  Dr.Ahmed Hussein Essa in front of Ambassador Hotel during the lunch break. These incidents vindicate the widely held perception that Kulmiye is a one-man institution.

By: Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse