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As one of the detrimental legacies of the protracted conflict, Somalia has been stuck in a vicious cycle of clan-based indirect selection of political representatives and leaders for more than 20 years, both at Federal and State levels. In the last year, the nation has been grappling with indirect electoral process at the Federal level marred by procedural irregularities, unfair practices, political tension and corruption. Despite this bleak outlook for Somalia's political landscape, there have been efforts to transition the country into democracy in some parts of the country. Puntland State of Somalia, a semi-autonomous Federal Member State in Somalia's north-eastern region, successfully conducted its first early direct local government elections in three districts on 25 October 2021. I oversaw these elections, which were declared free and fair by national and international observer and was overwhelmed with joy to witness the success of our endeavor. The experience has gripped the nation's imagination and instilled a sense of hope, a sudden awakening of public interest and realization that peaceful direct elections were feasible in Somalia.

I was elected as the Chairman of the third Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC), appointed in August 2019, to coordinate democratisation activities and manage the first direct one person one vote local government elections in the State. There have been two previous electoral commissions that invested time and resources in the programme but were unsuccessful for various reasons to move the process forward. I led the Commission for two years and six months, and during that period, we succeeded not only to hold peaceful, free and fair elections but to mainstream democracy and bringing it to the heart of the Puntland State political system.

Our work began with the creation of an environment of dialogue, community and stakeholder engagement, consultations and ensuring shared ownership of the process and outcome. We completed the essential laws, regulatory frameworks, policies and procedures for the democratisation programme and electoral system for Puntland State. We set standards for political associations and put in place fair and transparent inspection process, validation and a registration system. We oversaw the effective formation of nine political associations with divergent political ideologies, visions, strategies and programmes. Through our standards of conduct, work and outreach, we restored the trust of the Somali people and our international development partners and donors in the democratisation programme. And finally, we pioneered and successfully conducted peaceful direct early local government elections in three districts of Qardho, Ufeyn and Eyl for the first time in more than a half-century.

The defining characteristic of our democratisation programme was our unequivocal and stringent enforcement of our standards of conduct and work ethics. We have built relationships with different stakeholders based on mutual trust, compliance with the laws, accountability and transparency, recognition of separate roles and responsibilities and respect for the neutral, impartial and independent position of the Commission.

The second notable feature was the local ownership and leadership of the process, and the recognition that it was not born out of pressure from external actors. Rather, it grew out of the need for political change in the State and the appeal of a democratic political culture that was a model built within where citizens could choose their political leaders in a climate of healthy competition.

The third distinguishing quality of our work related to our approach and engagement with stakeholders and Somali citizens. Inclusive politics and democracy are mentioned almost in all Somalia's peace and state building priorities and became the clich of the day for many of the political elite and a campaign slogan for all those vying for presidential and senior positions up and down in the country.

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The Commission has taken a more responsible approach to frame the democratisation narrative as that of a dynamic learning process of introduction, improvement, consolidation and practice. I have argued, in my interaction with government officials, representatives of political associations, civil society groups and the public, that the direct local government elections were merely the first and necessary transitional step for democracy in Somalia but not sufficient if the other dimensions of democracy were lacking. The process must, therefore, include strong rule of law institutions, respect for individual rights and freedoms, free media and the citizen's right of access to accurate information.

After the October 2021 early elections, the democratisation process in Puntland has come under attack. I have never been reticent about the challenges we faced nor complacent about the enormous and complex tasks of delivering direct democratic elections in a country that was reeling from the effect of protracted conflict and for a population which has never known elections for over half a century. I resigned from my position as the Chairman and a member of the Commission on 2 January 2022 in the light of a series of existential challenges and disagreements with the government over the management of the democratisation programme.

First, the Commission was severely underfunded despite numerous requests to the government. For example, in 2020 it received only about 16 per cent of its allocated budget from the treasury, which hampered its capability to carry out its core functions and plans to expand its coverage and work for different districts in the State. I voiced my concerns on numerous occasions that the Commission could not operate without full political and financial backing. The government must now accept its failings in this regard and authorise the timely and unhindered transfer of funds to the Commission.

Secondly, I recognised that although democracy embodies a culture of transparency and accountability, it could hit a formidable snag if it was not underpinned by effective rule of law institutions, namely independent judicial mechanism with jurisdiction over constitutional issues and election disputes. The absence of a constitutional court in Puntland State coupled with the expiry of the term of Puntland High Court Judges on 15 August 2021 created a constitutional, legal and judicial vacuum and made our work to reassure political associations and the public very difficult. The government cannot evade the glaring reality of this failure and the urgent need to appoint Puntland High Court judges and form a Constitutional Court.

Thirdly, the completion and publication of district boundaries of the State was very vital for the electoral process, particularly drawing constituency boundaries, identifying polling stations, registering voters and resolving disputes between neighbouring districts and communities. The Commission received a number of boundary complaints from the communities in adjacent districts of Qardho and Ufeyn during the early elections which served as an indication that there would be a torrent of boundary disputes among the 50 districts in Puntland once the elections were extended to the whole State. This work on boundary delineation must be completed as soon as possible and the information made available to the public so that preparatory electoral work to identify constituencies can be undertaken and any boundary disputes resolved before the elections.

Fourthly, the government's reluctance to implement the results of the October 2021 elections and oversee a smooth hand over of the administration of the three districts to the new democratically elected council members within 30 days as stipulated by Article 43 of Puntland Local Government Law damaged the confidence in the process and was construed as a purposeful attack on the democratisation programme of Puntland State and a discernible shift in the government's determination to implement a multiple party-political system in Puntland State. The recent events in Qardho and Eyl districts where attempts were made to thwart the meetings of the newly democratically elected councillors are very worrying. The public need to counter, in a spirit of unity and purpose, decisions and actions that can threaten our transition to democracy and the right of our elected officials to govern. The government must heed the warnings and demands by the political associations, civil society organisations and the wider public not to retreat from the democratisation programme. It must bring the process back on track and begin with the handover of power to the newly democratically elected councillors of Qardho, Ufeyn and Eyl districts. Moreover, Puntland Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) and Non-State Actors need to continue their valuable work to keep the democratisation transition moving and increase their monitoring and observation activities in order to keep the pressure on the government to stay on the path to democracy.

Lastly but not least, Puntland's president, Said Abdullahi Deni's political ambitions to compete in the Federal presidential elections have adversely affected Puntland democratisation programme and resulted in much needed support, input and attention from the Puntland government to be diverted to his election campaign.

During the planning of the early elections, we were reminded of the failed attempts of democratisation in the past because certain political groups were not ready for the transition. Besides, there were powerful people who harboured heretical views about the democratisation programme and had invested private interest in the status quo which kept the reins of power firmly in the hands of a few. However, the widespread positive reactions and public acceptance of the process strengthened our resolve to build trust in the fairness, credibility and legitimacy of Puntland democratisation process and elections. We could not let premonition of failure damp our spirit and define our desire, ability and determination to succeed in our transition to democracy. We could not delay or backtrack from our transition to democracy by feigning a semi democracy model that would keep Puntland and the rest of Somalia in a state of perpetual defeat and missed opportunities. The prospect of democracy for Somalia was very promising and we had to go ahead at full steam to deliver free and fair one person one vote early local government elections, nothing less, nothing more and that is what we did on 25 October 2021.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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Puntland in transition to democracy: challenges and the way forward - Middle East Monitor