The Sage

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Posts posted by The Sage

  4. Posted

    Saalax;902626 wrote:
    Hundreds of protesters

    Population of Burao: 300,000

     

    Number of protesters: between 100 (minimum) to 999 (maximum)

     

    % of participation: 0.033% to 0.33% of total city population

     

    No matter how you spin it, the facts dictate that the protests only represent an incredibly tiny extreme segment of the population with overtly clannish tendencies. Are their people upset with current political makeup? Sure. Are they enough to demand credible legitimacy and the sensationalized coverage by disenfranchised posters? Hell no.

     

    Let's cut the cr*p shall we?

  8. Posted

    Somalia;899713 wrote:
    Mr A is telling Mr Y to keep quiet, very disappointed but not surprised.

    Always trying to inject qabil. Codenames and pseudonyms dont hide the fact.

     

    Anyway Africa own is being over dramatic. The few dozen teenage protestors in comparison to 1,000,000 people in Hargeisa that are going about their lives normally shows that the whole electoral issue is being over hyped

  9. Posted

    On November 28, for the fifth time in 10 years, the former British protectorate of Somaliland held multiparty elections. With more than 2,000 candidates from seven political parties and associations contesting 379 seats, international observers described the polls as transparent and largely peaceful. But while hundreds of thousands queued patiently to cast their ballots, the election is at best a footnote in the annals of contemporary African democracy.

     

    For Somaliland is in an unfortunate historical position: joined with Italian Somalia in 1960 to form the postcolonial republic of Somalia, the republic's chaotic vacuum of governance over the past 20 years has brought havoc to all parts of the country. In 1991, Somaliland charted its own course: it declared independence from the internationally recognised state of Somalia, formed its own governance institutions from its capital of Hargeisa, and set about rebuilding its infrastructure and economy.

     

    No other state has recognised Somaliland's statehood, although neighbouring, landlocked Ethiopia has extended some diplomatic privileges and uses the port of Berbera as an alternative to the near monopoly of Djibouti. For years, turmoil in southern Somalia made Somaliland's relative calm seem even more remarkable. Recent progress in Mogadishu, including a peaceful transfer of power to a new president, has encouraged some international actors to renew attempts at talks between Hargeisa and Mogadishu about political reconciliation.

     

    Whatever the future of the country formally known as Somalia - one state, two or more - Somaliland's decade of elections has institutionalised local democracy and developed a very different political reality in the north-west Horn of Africa. And notwithstanding more positive trends from Mogadishu, a credible, pluralistic democratic election remains a distant aspiration for south-central Somalia.

     

    Where in 2002 only five women stood for election in Somaliland's local elections, more than 140 did so in 2012, in what is still a conservative, Islamic society. In unprecedented numbers, young people participated as voters and candidates, aided by an age of majority set at only 16. Disputed areas of eastern Somaliland saw much more extensive voter participation than in previous polls, and the emergence of new parties and associations will set the scene for a potentially more representative political class in the future.

     

    Somaliland's electoral democracy hasn't been without challenge: there were some weaknesses in the electoral process, including incidents of multiple voting. Results from the current vote have taken longer than hoped to collate, and there have been a number of protests, some violent, against figures announced so far.

     

    To the disappointment of Somaliland's political elite, an earlier series of successful elections - including, in 2010, the defeat of an incumbent president and a new regime peacefully coming to power - haven't moved Somaliland much further down the path of international recognition, either.

     

    Political uncertainty has slowed business investment in Somaliland, although there are some signs of this changing: Coca-Cola recently licensed a local company to bottle and distribute its drinks. Production has begun at a factory outside of Hargeisa. A number of oil blocks have been awarded to foreign companies for prospecting, although no significant find has yet been made. The bulk of the economy is driven by remittances, and by a successful diaspora returning as entrepreneurs and investors.

     

    Amid some promising signs, Somaliland's future is still uncertain. In financial terms, Somaliland cannot afford its democracy - with a limited base of revenue and almost no tax collection, the government in Hargeisa can only afford to pay about a fifth of the costs of the vote. The rest of the money for this election, as with previous polls, comes from mostly European donor countries.

     

    But Somaliland cannot easily abandon democracy either. The people of Somaliland have become accustomed to being involved in a formal, consultative political process, even if more traditional clan and community structures remain important markers of identity.

     

    Presidential and parliamentary elections are due in 2014 and 2015, but the money to organise the votes is yet to be found. As with much in the Horn of Africa, progress is fragile and vulnerable to reversal. But Somaliland has demonstrated resilience in overcoming a legacy of civil war and destruction, and the difficulties in building a new country on imperfect foundations. In a mostly barren region, democracy has germinated, and further care is needed to ensure it survives.

     

     

     

    Aly Verjee, a senior researcher at the Rift Valley Institute based in Kenya, observed elections in Somaliland in 2005, 2010 and 2012

     

    http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/an-unlikely-model-of-democracy-in-chaotic-east-africa

  10. Posted

    Ah using the secessionist "S" word. A common crutch you use to make your points look like they have merit. Anyway I don't make excuses for anyone all I do is give insight into the events whereas you just jump on the hater bandwagon whether or not facts are true.

     

    Man you seem to hate Silanyo more than Fox News hates Obama. Next you'll be telling us he was born in Kenya

  13. Posted

    Very sad indeed but completely understandable given the circumstances. The kids who were riled up in the streets were egged on by the political parties and when you combine that with many idle urban youth it becomes a recipe for disaster.

     

    At we can be thankful that civilians dying by this nature is extremely rare in Somaliland. Sadly the civilian death toll in outside SL is much greater but as is the case in many conflicts their stories are rarely told

  15. Posted

    General Duke;897485 wrote:
    ^^ My advice is take your time next time lad. You have egg on your face & need to take a step back before you get something worse. The secesessuonist stories are always over the top, it does not take much to debunk them.

    My suggestion is simple. Stop selling yourself's to your firmer conical masters and the like and work harder at alleviating poverty, creation of opportunities for the youth and fighting corruption. Then things might get better.

     

    Changing the subject Dukey? Where does fighting poverty and jobs for youth figure into you providing proof for your hatred filled allegations? I showed the consensus that the elections were deemed free and fair where as you just put forward conjecture and random mud slinging.

     

    Your slimy opportunist ways are transparent for all to see. You jump at any chance to bash anything Somaliland related out of some sense of insecurity that anything good in Somaliland is therefore bad for Puntland and Somalia. So when some parties contest the results of the election (which in within their right) you jump on the chance and say the sky is falling. Seriously bro, the fact that SL is undergoing democratization and PL is battling terrorists a few miles from their commercial capital is telling of the work that needs to be done. So for the good of yourself and your countrymen lay off this crazy obsession.

  24. Posted

    I love how Duke posts an article that puts forward no concrete proof of his claims. I know you really want to sow the seeds of discontent but I think you need to find a new hobby. Dozens of reputable media organizations and international election observers have stated that the elections were free and fair.

     

    AFP: Somaliland election free and fair: observers-

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hPOQSDOSIy7VmRt2QHOrxBFVn1uw

     

    UNPO: Somaliland: ‘Free And Fair’ Municipal Elections

    http://www.unpo.org/article/15204

     

    SONSAF Declares Elections as Free and Fair

    http://www.somalilandsun.com/index.php/politics/1891-somaliland-sonsaf-declares-elections-as-free-and-fair

     

    Sabahi: Somaliland elections 'transparent', international observers say

    http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2012/12/03/newsbrief-07

     

    So where's your proof Duke? I know you make it your mission to denigrate SL at every turn but hyping up the rantings of disgruntled candidates and idle teenagers is a fruitless task. If I were you I would be more concerned that AS is setting up shop a few miles from Bosaso