Somaliland elections were cruel and severe this year. Somaliland
elections supposed to be democratic but it turned out to be autocratic. In
order Somaliland elections to be democratic, people should have the freedom to
vote, freedom to vote for whoever they prefer, freedom to vote from any city
they want, freedom to vote without facing any harsh treatments from the police
and the freedom to not sell their votes to corrupted members of the government.
In this election, all of those freedoms were vanished. This year the elections
enter another whole level where people can sell their votes multiple times.
This is destroying the development of this country but people are so blind that
they can't notice it's harming their country in the long term. Somaliland
election were not democratic because the government offered people money so
people can sell their votes not for the sake of a better country with a better
government but just for money.
The voting process in Somaliland is simple but it takes long hours
to complete it. First, you have to be above the age of 15 in order to vote.
Second, you have to know the language in order to be considered a Somalilander
and also so you can answer the questions that the election commission is going
to ask you without facing any difficulties. Third, you have to form a line and
wait till your turn. A friend of mine’s father faced lot of hardships just so
his vote can be heard. He went to Ethiopia for a business so he stayed there
for a long time that he forgot his language, Somali. “They asked him the same
questions couple of times but it was hard for him to take in what they were
asking him. They thought he wasn't Somalilander so it took him eight hours to
vote.”[1]
I woke up at three am in the morning to vote. It took me more than
I expected. It took me five hours to
vote because people were pushing each other around and the police were firing
gun to scare people off. I finally vote for Deeq Ducaale because I think he can
take a big role in the improvement of this country. He likes serving and
helping people every time he gets a chance.
The government announced the elections results on Thursday, 7
December 2012 at 6 pm. After the results have been released, people started
killing each other one by one. They started killing the police and throwing
rocks at them. When the police feel the pain they started shooting people. So
far, more than 16 people both civilians and police are injured and dragged down
into hospitals. “My brother has been shot in the leg and he is in the hospital.
A lot of injured people are coming to the hospital every hour.”[2]
The number of injure people is increasing dramatically and the government is
not taking a move yet. People are fighting against the government and demanding
justice and fairness but their respond is ammunitions.
[1] Sami Yusuf: a friend of mine who his
father went through a lot of difficulties in voting.
[2] Faysa Abdi: one of my brother's friends
who her brother has been shot in the leg last night
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