18
parliamentary electoral process, including from the European Commission which “having
declined to support the presidential election, was now ready to support the parliamentary
elections as part of a broader democratization project.”
22
According to the Academy for Peace
and Development, “the international community became interested when the process was at a
critical junction, and its political support and commitment to fund the election came when most
needed,”
23
particularly given that the Somaliland government had funds available to cover only
30 percent of the projected costs associated with administering the election.
24
Support to the 2005 electoral process was provided by the international community in a variety
of forms. The British Embassy in Addis Abba provided an expert consultant to offer technical
support to the drafting of the requisite election law, which was passed in January 2005 by the
Somaliland parliament. The War-Torn Societies Project International and the Academy for
Peace and Development “provided various technical inputs to enhance the administrative
capacity and efficiency of the National Electoral Commission”
25
and supported dialogue
between political parties, the National Electoral Commission and government which culminated
in the signing of a political party code of conduct for the electoral process by these stakeholders
on July 27, 2005.
26
IRI, through funding from USAID, provided training to Somaliland’s three
political parties to prepare them to conduct campaigns and compete in elections at the national
and regional level, and capacity building support to youth and women-focused civil society
organizations. Together, IRI and the War-Torn Societies Project International trained
approximately 6,000 political party agents in the weeks immediately preceding elections. IRI
produced and distributed a manual on electoral conduct and procedures to election officials,
party agents and security officers. Further, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World
Service Trust and the Academy for Peace and Development worked with Somaliland media and
the National Electoral Commission to create and sign-on to a media code of conduct for
elections.
27
In addition to the provision of support to Somaliland stakeholders, international election
monitoring missions were supported for the 2005 parliamentary elections. Progressio, at the
invitation of the National Electoral Commission, fielded an official election monitoring mission
22
Bradbury, Mark.
Becoming Somaliland
. Oxford: James Currey, 2008. Print, p. 205.
23
A Vote for Peace: How Somaliland Successfully Hosted Its First Parliamentary Elections in 35 Years
. Rep.
Hargeisa: Academy for Peace and Development/Interpeace, 2006. Print, p.17.
24
Ibid, p. 11.
25
Ibid, p. 17.
26
International Republican Institute Somaliland September 29, 2005 Parliamentary Election Assessment Report
.
Rep. Washington, D.C.: International Republican Institute, 2005. Print, p. 11.
27
A Vote for Peace: How Somaliland Successfully Hosted Its First Parliamentary Elections in 35 Years
. Rep.
Hargeisa: Academy for Peace and Development/Interpeace, 2006. Print, p. 16.
