Hargeisa (PP Commentary) — According to a senior member of Waddani, the political party that won the Somaliland presidential elections, Dr Ahmed Samatar, a professor of International Studies at Macalester College, “painted a misleading portrait of Somaliland’s political system”. Professor Samatar claimed that various entities politically ganged up on the President of the Somaliland Administration, Muse Bihi Abdi. “Foreign money influenced the outcome of the election,” Professor Samatar said.
Dr Samatar was campaigning on a platform to diversify a political system dominated by one clan. Hillaac, the political association he founded, unexpectedly underperformed in Awdal, his hometown, and failed to qualify for political party status. In contrast, Kaah, a political association founded by Mohamud Hashi, a former member of Kulmiye, the ruling party of the outgoing administration, managed to qualify for party status. Dr Samatar blamed disunity within the Awdal political class for Hillaac’s dismal performance.
Today, Abdirashid Saleebaan, the Secretary of Waddani, accused the outgoing administration of indifference to the alleged embezzlement of public assets by government officials. The illegal employment of new civil servants and excessive government expenditure during the transition are two issues the Waddani Secretary emphasised in his press conference in Hargeisa earlier today.
It is common for a new incoming administration in Hargeisa to face a hefty bill from companies that the outgoing government contracted to procure goods, build facilities or deliver services. There is no policy to impose a moratorium on employment and public spending during the election period before a new administration takes over.
Professor Samatar might be nursing a political defeat, but his comments on the “rottenness” of Somaliland’s political system are not wide of the mark. Highlighting the absence of laws regulating campaign funds three weeks before the election, Abdulkadir Jirde, a senior member of Waddani, told a reporter in Hargeisa that the “ruling party uses public money for campaigning.” With Waddani now in power, the onus to clean up Somaliland politics lies with the President-elect of the Somaliland Administration.
According to a senior member of Waddani, the political party that won the Somaliland presidential elections, Dr Ahmed Samatar, a professor of International Studies at Macalester College, painted a misleading portrait of Somaliland’s political system. Professor Samatar claimed that various entities politically ganged up on the President of the Somaliland Administration, Muse Bihi Abdi. “Foreign money influenced the outcome of the election,” Professor Samatar said.
Dr Samatar was campaigning on a platform to diversify a political system dominated by one clan. Hillaac, the political association he founded, unexpectedly underperformed in Awdal, his hometown, and failed to qualify for political party status. In contrast, Kaah, a political association founded by Mohamud Hashi, a former member of Kulmiye, the ruling party of the outgoing administration, managed to qualify for party status. Dr Samatar blamed disunity within the Awdal political class for Hillaac’s dismal performance.
Today, Abdirashid Saleebaan, the Secretary of Waddani, accused the outgoing administration of indifference to the embezzlement of public assets by government officials. The illegal employment of new civil servants and excessive government expenditure during the transition were two issues the Waddani Secretary emphasised in his press conference in Hargeisa earlier today.
It is common for a new incoming administration to face a hefty bill from companies in Hargeisa that the outgoing government contracted to procure goods, build facilities, or deliver services. There is no policy to impose a moratorium on employment and public spending during the election period before a new administration takes over.
Professor Samatar might be nursing a political defeat, but his comments on the “rottenness” of Somaliland’s political system are not wide of the mark. Highlighting the absence of laws regulating campaign funds three weeks before the election, Abdulkadir Jirde, a senior member of Waddani, told a reporter in Hargeisa that the “ruling party uses public money for campaigning.” With Waddani now in power, the onus to clean up Somaliland politics lies with the President-elect.
© Puntland Post, 2024
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