Will democracy restore Somalia's torn body?

An important democratic surprise in its timing comes this time from the Horn of Africa, specifically from “Somaliland”, the small breakaway republic that is not internationally recognized, where the most prominent opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Ayro, won the presidency of this republic that has been searching for a place in the sun since the announcement of its difficult birth in 1991.

After the collapse of the Somali regime led by President Mohamed Siad Barre, the Somalis of the north went to declare their independence unilaterally, but no one recognized their republic for three decades, and the world continued to deal with their republic as an autonomous entity within the federal Somali state, which made the task of independence difficult for them, and made it an independence with a stay of implementation regarding the membership of this newborn separatist state in the international system, which kept it a special case stuck, and it did not receive any recognition, despite the great efforts it made in search of it.

The Republic of Somaliland, which was under British colonial rule, was called English Somalia, and which the British occupiers left in 1960. Then the independence of northern Somalia was declared several days before its unity from southern Somalia was declared under the leadership of the great Somali leader, Adam Abdullah Osman, who ruled between 1960 and 1967, and left power following an electoral defeat by his then Prime Minister, Abdirashid Sharmarke, establishing true democratic traditions, perhaps the first in all Third World countries.

What is striking about the experience of the internationally isolated "Somaliland" is the dynamism of its political scene. Since its unilateral declaration of independence, it has maintained clear and strict democratic traditions since the moment of its declaration of secession in 1991, as five presidents succeeded each other in ruling it before the newly elected president, coming and going through free and direct elections. Strengthening this democratic tradition of peaceful transfer of power strengthened this path, which constituted a great resistance to the emergence of any authoritarian attempt, such as that attempted by the former outgoing president, Musa Bihi, during his rule. The presidents who succeeded each other in presiding over this separatist region are: Abdul Rahman Al-Tur (1991-1993), Mohamed Ibrahim Agal for two electoral terms (1993-2002), Taher Riyale for two terms (2002-2010), Ahmed Silanyo for two terms (2010-2017), and the outgoing president, Musa Bihi (2017-2024).

Returning to the elections that were recently held and their results, perhaps they will establish a new phase of politics, not only in Somaliland, but also at the level of Somalia as a whole and the Horn of Africa region in general, because the winning president has a calm, consensual and non-confrontational personality. This is what the Somali situation lacks in general, and it is in dire need of politicized national leaders who are well aware of the complexities of the region and the international, regional and local moment, unlike the personality of Musa Bihi, whose policies have sparked more crises and unrest in a region that does not need such crises, wars and conflicts in the first place.

Strengthening political life and multi-partyism in Somalia has become the main gateway to any solutions and treatments required to push Somalia as a whole towards recovery and overcoming the effects of wars, conflicts and divisions that are still the prominent feature of Somali geography. The most dangerous thing is that these divisions are being legitimized away from the structural political work of the state and its institutions. Rather, the reality of separations and federalism is being perpetuated away from restoring the sovereign state institutions that guarantee the sovereignty of the country as a whole, and protect its lands and the unity of its divided territory.

The political process that is being strengthened in all electoral stations in "Somaliland" should be built upon and made a central path in the making of Somali politics as a whole, north and south, and should be strongly present in any process towards restoring the country's sovereignty and independence, which is what the Somaliland experience currently represents, where party life is strongly present and free, fair, periodic and regular elections are free, which is what the rest of the Somali scene lacks on the other side.

Strengthening and encouraging political life is the ideal way in any process of rebuilding destroyed societies, or post-war societies, as is the case in Somalia today, and in many neighboring countries, such as Yemen, Libya, Sudan, and other societies that have witnessed and continue to witness devastating civil wars, because the greatest destruction in these societies is not only to things, but to the human being and his intellectual, cultural, and value system that has been greatly distorted and ruined, which has made him lose the ability to distinguish and robbed him of faith in many ideas and names, foremost of which is the decline in his faith in the idea of the state in principle, the republic, democracy, elections, and politics in general.

What the electoral democratic experience in "Somaliland" represents is a great gain for the region, as it is a glimmer of hope that works to restore people's confidence in political ideas and the values of dialogue, understanding, acceptance of others, and partnership within the framework of one society. There are mechanisms and tools through which problems can be solved, as weapons are not the only option available to deal with problems, as in conflicting societies today. Therefore, any democratic experience in the region is a glimmer of hope and must be built upon and supported to continue and survive in the face of the pile of great political, economic, social, and cultural challenges that have begun to threaten our societies and our region alike.

The values of dialogue, understanding, partnership and coexistence are the only tools for managing the escalating crises in our region, which has been engulfed in devastating wars that have destroyed everything. Leaving the choice to the peoples to decide their own fate is the only way out of all the crises that the region is drowning in. Democracy, even at its lowest limits, can keep societies in a state of continuous dialogue until appropriate, possible and consensual solutions are reached, guaranteed by consensual democracy itself.

What this article wants to say is that the democratic elections in Somaliland have finally taken place, and the opposition leader has won, becoming president in a part of a torn country, whose division has been prolonged due to the absence of a political mind that organizes the Somali nation, which is in dire need of finding a path to change and restoring the state after more than three decades of wandering and failure to recover to a state and homeland that possesses all the elements and capabilities of comprehensive recovery, but it is standing still and has not taken a step forward.

Self-determination of peoples, whether united or separated, is a legitimate right of peoples, not of political elites alone. All appropriate political conditions must be available for its determination, and it should not be the exclusive right of a particular political elite. This is the destiny of a people and a nation, and it should not be subject to an individual governed by his own tendencies, interests, and sometimes short-sighted judgments. Consequently, only the democratic path is capable of ripening the most appropriate conditions for making fateful decisions at the level of the entire Somali nation. All political disputes and conflicts can only be resolved through comprehensive national dialogue based on the supreme national interest of the nation that decides its own destiny.

Finally, it is hoped that this democratic experience will contribute to strengthening confidence in democratic political mechanisms in an environment where people have lost confidence in everything, and that this experience will be generalized to the entire Somali land, which today stands in place without moving forward due to many obstacles, foremost among which is the obstacle of tribalism or political clanism, which today represents a real challenge to any recovery of politics, and thus to the Somali state and nation.

*Quoted from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed