Saturday June 26th, The Big DAY!!!

[RedSea]

Hargeisa, Somaliland - The Republic of Somaliland, a self- declared independent state in northern Somalia that no other country recognises, goes to the polls Saturday to elect its president.

A region of some 3.5 million people, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in May 1991, after the collapse of the Siad Barre regime.

In recent years, as chaos has reigned in Somalia proper, Somaliland has remained a relatively stable - and democratic - de facto state.

Now, Somaliland's political leadership hopes that a peaceful and democratic transfer of power will strengthen the region's calls for international recognition.

"This election means a lot for Somaliland. We will be testing the Europeans and the Americans. While there is chaos in Somalia, we have democracy and stability in Somaliland," incumbent President Dahir Rayale Kahin told the German Press Agency dpa in an exclusive interview at the presidential palace in Hargeisa.

"We hope that the international community will look at our elections, will recognize the progress we have made, and will support us in the fight for international recognition," he said.

Rayale faces a tough challenge in the form of opposition leader Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, the chairman of the Peace Unity and Development Party.

During the last election in 2003, Silanyo came short of beating Rayale, head of the United People's Democratic Party (UDUB), by just 80 votes.

With instability and Islamist violence continuing in Somalia, the unrecognised republic sees no way back to a united Somali state.

"We have tested our brothers, and we have no interest in going back to the union," Rayale said.

Violence from the neighbour state, however, still threatens Somaliland. Three weeks before polling day, an Islamist insurgent was captured in the city of Burao armed with explosives.

Security forces fear that the Islamist al-Shabaab group is planning more attacks to destabilise the more mainstream Muslim Somaliland society.

In 2008, at least 30 people were killed in coordinated bomb attacks in the capital Hargeisa and the nearby Somalian port of Bosaso. Al-Shabaab was widely blamed.

Rayale insists that despite such threats, the democratic process will take place.

"I am the president. But if I don't win, I will hand over to the one who succeeds peacefully. There will be no problem," he said.

"God knows, whether or not there will be attacks. Anything can happen," he added. "But our people and security forces are very alert."

It may be democratic, but Somaliland has its fair share of problems. A poor country in a poor region, the average income of its residents is just 25 dollars per month.

An estimated 70 per cent of the male population is addicted to the herbal drug Khat, also heavily used in the rest of Somalia and neighbouring Yemen.

The leaf, which is chewed to produce a feeling of wellbeing - and lethargy - in the user, requires large amounts of the country's scarce water to grow.

Rayale is accused by the opposition of not doing enough to counter unemployment, poverty and the Khat problem, with the election campaign shaping up along these lines.

Faisal Ali Warabe, chairman of the opposition party Justice and Welfare (UCID), told dpa in the city of Boroma that "the president and his government just did not do enough to improve the living conditions of the Somaliland people."

Rayale himself contends that the key to tackling Somaliland's problems is gaining international recognition.

"As soon as our country is recognised, there will be more international investment which will create jobs. The Khat consumption will then automatically decrease as it is mainly consumed by the jobless," he said.

Somaliland has semi-official contacts abroad with African states such as Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, along with several European nations, including France and the United Kingdom.

Calls have been made within the EU and in the United States to back Somaliland as a democratic example in an otherwise troubled region.

Some 1 million voters are registered to vote Saturday to elect the president for a five-year term. Around 70 international and 800 local observers will oversee the voting in around 1,800 polling stations.

The National Electoral Commission could announce provisional results as early as 48 hours after polling day.