Somaliland opposition wants Riyale out....

Somaliland opposition 'ready for election' but wants Riyale out

HARGEISA, Somalia Mar 17 (Gargaar) - The leading opposition party in Somaliland has again demanded a caretaker government to rule the region during a two-month transitional period.

Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, the presidential candidate for the Kulmiye opposition party, addressed a crowd Monday at the opening of a youth office in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

Ahmed Silanyo, Somaliland opposition leader

"Some people are saying that Kulmiye  party is against the election. But Kulmiye is ready for the election this hour, Kulmiye is ready on May 31, but April 6 is the deadline for [Dahir] Riyale's government," Mr. Silanyo declared, adding: "The dispute is who will rule the country [Somaliland] until the election date."

The chairman of the ruling UDUB party, Mr. Jama Yasin Farah, told a party gathering in the city of Burao that the Kulmiye party's demands are "unfortunate."

"The people will only accept the constitutional process and I urge Kulmiye [party] to accept the decision reached by the Somaliland election commission," Mr Farah said, while referring to the commission's controversial move to delay the presidential election from March 29 to May 31.

Meanwhile, Somaliland's upper house of parliament, the House of Guurti, voted today to extend its ordinary session by an additional month to help mediate among the political parties.

The political crisis in Somaliland started in April 2008, when President Riyale's constitutional five-year mandate ended. The House of Guurti voted to give the Riyale administration an additional year in office, in a move condemned by the opposition as illegal.

The dispute was later resolved and a new election date was set for March 29, 2009, when Mr. Riyale and Mr. Silanyo were expected to face-off in a presidential race similar to 2003, when Silanyo lost by less than 90 votes.

But the election commission's unilateral decision to delay the election until May 31 has deepened the political dispute, with the Kulmiye party demanding that the two houses of parliament appoint a caretaker government that can lead Somaliland until the election. Possibilty of agreeing this date was close, when with Riyale's instruction and with all his unlimited means and pressure, including alleged vote-buying, the Upper House suddenly extended Riyale's term to 29 October 2009, while election date was set on 29 September 2009. The logic of this deliberate agitation of the opposition amounts to lack of respect of the public will and low sense of responsibility.

With that unwarranted delay, the Western governments lead by Britain and Norway expressed their utter rejection of this undemocratic unilateral delay by the administration and called upon the President to come back to negotiation table and seek consensus. They expressed that they will suspend all cooperation unless this political crisis are solved by negotiated agreement between all concerned.