Somaliland: “Register Somewhere Vote Anywhere in the Country” National Election Commission

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Somaliland NEC Chair Abdiqadir Imaan Warsame flanked by Sultan Nassir addresses the Gaboye Community at a VOSOMWO function in Hargeisa

By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The ballot vote procedures in Somaliland are set for drastic changes as pertains to place of Voter registration and Casting.
This is according to the chairperson of the Somaliland National Election Commission-NEC Commissioner Abdulqadir Iman Warsame at a function organized by Voice of Somaliland Minority Women Organization-VOSOMWO in Hargiesa where participants barnstormed on means to empower minority clans politically and economically.
“In our new procedure a citizen can register and vote in different region of the country” revealed Commissioner Abdulqadir adding that NEC made this change in order to ease registration and voting as opposed to past system that entailed one casting ballot at the area of registration only.
Somaliland which scrapped the voter register used n the 2010 presidential elections that ushered in current Kulmiye party administration of President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo will have NEC start establishing a new voters catalog at the end of July 2015.
This exercise that is expected to facilitate conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections initially slated for June but now obviously to be postponed, shall take three months to finalize as pr the dictates of the Somaliland election laws.
In his address at the national Endowment for Democracy-NED funded VOSOMWO function commissioner Abdulqadir who urged participants and citizens to register as voters in the registration exercise that is to kick off in the coming days, while adding that the Somaliland constitution forbids the discrimination of citizens on Gender, religion and/or tribe etc
”Every citizen in Somaliland has the rights to vote as well as to be voted for if he is a contestant in an election. I therefore advise Gaboye community to acquire voter cards so that they can participate in active political process” summed up the NEC chairman Commissioner Abdulqadir Iman Warsame
While the new measures introduced shall surely ease the burden of having citizens traverse the country from place of work or residence to desired area of ballot casting as has been the norm in prior elections it remains to be seen how NEC shall perform the task as pertains to period of issuance, synchronizing Voter and ID cards not to mention the type of registration technology it, NEC shall put in place.