Editor’s note: WardheerNews has so far published several competing view points on the discourse pertaining to the 2016 election. WardheerNews, does not normally publish articles that don’t have names and address attached, however due to the interest in the current national discussions to the 2016 election, the editorial board would make this one time exception to the rule and publish this Non-Paper paper with the hope to strengthen the national debate.
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“Something that approximates an “election” but that is not an Election combined with something that approximates an “extension” but that is not an Extension.”
Under the Vision 2016 document drawn up by the Federal Government of Somalia in 2013 and endorsed by the international community, including the United Nations, Somalia must meet its deadline for holding elections in 2016 in order to usher in more legitimate and reformed institutions. It is something that the current Somali leadership, regional bodies like the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and Somalia’s other international partners all agree on. Yet, with only 9 months remaining of the mandate and tenure of the current Somali government, there are growing anxieties among most stakeholders with regard to the viability of holding elections, even an election that may approximate an“ election”, but is not really an election in the real sense of the word, since such an indirect election does not enlarge the franchise to include all eligible voters.
This non paper is meant to examine the current context and explore the structural work necessary for an election to happen and measure them against the remaining time of the transition in the context of the prevailing political and security configuration of Somalia during the next several months. The paper will also put forth the various models of electoral processes advanced by stakeholders (Somali and non-Somalis), researchers and commentators and measure them against the criteria mentioned above. Finally, the paper will provide a realistic middle ground option, which can offer a good prospect for a more legitimate, less disruptive outcome that can also produce more legitimate and reformed institutions.
1. The National Consultative Forum On Electoral Processes for 2016 Elections
The National Consultative Forum On Electoral Processes (NCFEP) for 2016 Elections was formed on September 21, 2015 in Mogadishu in the presence of many stakeholders such as the regional administrations, parliament, civil society, the government and international community. Its mandate is to engage the public, solicit advise on best models on electoral processes and report back sometime in December its findings regarding a harmonized model detailing an electoral process for 2016. The Forum again held its second meeting on the 19th and the 20th of October 2015 in a secure environment inside the “Green Zone” at the airport and issued a positive-looking Communiqué on the way forward for a 2016 election. It is a daunting task, but it is doable. It is very likely that after conducting intensive canvassing of views from relevant segments of the Somali pubic in the coming few weeks, the NCFEP would chose from one of the electoral models already under discussion by commentators, politicians, the government,
Think-Tanks, and the international community. So what are the existing models?
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