Somaliland: A New Democracy in the Horn of Africa?

With a constitutionally-based and popularly elected government, the Republic of somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, has a democratic system matched by few others countries in Africa and the Middle East. However, Somaliland's independence has not been recognised internationally. Moreover developments in neighbouring countries suggest that people in Somaliland will face serious challenges in entrenching a democratic political system. This article takes as its point of departure Georg Sorensen's (1998:3) definition of democracy. His definition is employed, together with the history of elections in the region, to explore the challenges people in somaliland face in "establishing a democratic political system, in this sense the article aims to explore the challenges of the future, rather than analyze the processes of the past. These include, among others, the shift from a clan-based form of political representation and competition to one based on political parties as forums for political representation and competition, the urban-based nature of political discourse in a still predominantly rural society, and the absence of a strong independent media. In 1991 the Republic of Somaliland broke away from Somalia. With a constitutionally-based and popular elected government, the Republic of Somaliland has a democratic system matched by few other countries in Africa and the Middle East, although Somaliland's independence has not been recognised internationally. However, the history of the region indicates that the Somali political system faces several challenges. In order to understand these challenges one has to establish an analytical framework, a definitions of democracy that could provide some guidance to what such challenges can consist of, and which specific areas of he political structure to examine. The term democracy comes from a combination of two Greek workds: demos (people) and kratos (rule). Accordingly, democracy has been defined as 'rule by the people' (Sorensen, 1998:3). A demand for 'rule by the people', although seemingly straightforward, requires a definition of who 'the people' are and an agreement on mechanisms for their political inclusion or exclusion. For example, should émigré or diaspora communities have political rights in their country of origin, and should there be age restrictions on political participation? What is the most appropriate form of popular participation, and bow can the rights of minority groups be accommodated?