Somaliland Presidential Election, 2010
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Presidential elections were held in
Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...
on 26 June 2010. The elections were originally scheduled for August 2008 and numerous delays, endangered political stability in the country. On 1 July 2010, the Somaliland National Election Commission announced that opposition candidate
Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (, ; 1 June 1938 – 15 November 2024), known by his nickname Silanyo (), was a Somaliland politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2017. During the 1980s, he also served as the Chairman of the ...
had won the elections, defeating incumbent President
Dahir Riyale Kahin Dahir Riyale Kahin (, ; born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as a senior officer in the National Security Service in Somalia, and he was Vice President of Somal ...
.


Background

The elections were originally scheduled for 31 August 2008, but the instability in the eastern
Sanaag Sanag (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Regions of Somalia
Sa ...
and
Sool Sool (, ) is a disputed administrative region (gobol). It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city is Las Anod. The region is disputed by the self-declared Republic o ...
regions led the Guurti to extend the incumbent's term for a year in early April 2008, setting the election for 15 March 2009. This was heavily criticised by the opposition—in the end, a compromise led to the date of 6 April 2009, which was later changed to one week before that (29 March). On 3 March, it was announced that the elections were postponed by two more months, to be held on 31 May. On 6 September 2009, the electoral commission announced that the election could not be held on the day planned, 27 September, due to "current political, economic and technical conditions". A new date was not announced. President Dahir Riyale Kahin subsequently asked the Guurti for yet another term extension since it would expire on 29 September, but was denied this. On 28 September however, it was reported that on a second vote, the term extension was granted, provided that the government adheres to a six-point proposal to organise the next elections. Somaliland politicians then expected the election to be held in January 2010 at the earliest. Later, April 2010 was mentioned, but it soon became clear this date would also be missed. The elections were then expected for June 2010, as the preparations for the elections were underway. The first
ballot box A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually a square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cas ...
es for the election arrived from
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on 19 April, and new voter registration cards will be issued from the second week of May. Somaliland's electoral commission backed a June election on 28 April 2010, stating the voters list had been updated and now contains 1.1 million people.


Conduct

After a two-year delay, voting for the presidential elections finally took place in late June 2010. A team of international observers led by Progressio, a UK-based development agency (formerly known as the Catholic Institute for International Relations) that has long been an advocate for independence movements, described the process as "free and fair", although they noted violence in the disputed eastern
Sool Sool (, ) is a disputed administrative region (gobol). It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city is Las Anod. The region is disputed by the self-declared Republic o ...
region that led to the death of an election official. The
International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and funded and supported by the United States federal government. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. Its public mission is to a ...
asserted that "Somaliland’s election was peaceful, without major incident and generally met international standards. Hundreds of thousands of Somalilanders turned out to vote in their fourth election, and although wanting international recognition, did not wait to continue to build their nascent democracy. The international community should credit such democratic progress and the example it sets for others."


Results

The Somaliland National Election Commission announced the results on 1 July 2010, the fiftieth anniversary of independence from
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. They showed that Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo had won the presidential election with just under 50% of the vote, defeating incumbent president Dahir Riyale Kahin, who received 33%.


Aftermath

After the results were announced, Kahin congratulated Silanyo and reiterated that he would step down. Silanyo was sworn in on 27 July at a ceremony.


References

{{Somaliland elections Elections in Somaliland
Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results