KULMIYE PARTY IS FLOATING IN A STATE OF IDEOLOGICAL BANKRUPT

[fagash_killer]

Kulmiye party is floating in a state of ideological bankruptcy



The genius of democratic election is that the voter gets to decide who wins and who loses. Without a doubt, the magic formula to avoid defeat in the up coming presidential elections in Somaliland is that the party who persuades the majority of voter support will certainly emerge as the true victor.

Time is fast approaching, as president Riyaale’s term will come to an end in less than a year. The opposition parties are feeling the heat in the pursuit of their ultimate goal, which is the acquisition of power – the office of presidency, so that the winner could introduce its party programs, but the road to this goal is not all that smooth. The competing political parties are required to develop an effective and efficient political campaign, by providing an unambiguous and easy to understand campaign issues, designed to target the different interest groups in the community and persuasive enough to attract a massive voter support, both regionally and nationally.

The primary opposition party in every democratic society has a unique platform, which guides its political campaign. It also undertakes some essential functional roles to hold the current government accountable.

One of the most important roles of the opposition is to constantly question the government, so that it remains answerable to the public at all times, and hold them accountable to the public. In addition, the job of the opposition party is to scrutinize everything that the government does and criticize its measures, policies and proposes alternatives of its own and to draw attention to any inefficiency or maladministration in the conduct of national affairs.

Unfortunately, the main opposition party – Kulmiye lacks these inherent characteristics normally required from every opposition party. Kulmiye party failed to establish its party manifesto, which gives the party a distinctive character different from other political parties in the country. It also falls short in carrying out its functional roles to concentrate on the issues that matter and to hold the government accountable.

A glimpse of the last presidential election

During the last presidential elections, the primary opposition party utilized two major political tactics, widely believed as unbeatable party manifestos. Kulmiye party wore the jerseys of SNM and Isaak. Surprisingly, Kulmiye party came very close to winning the presidency in Somaliland. However, president Riyale, the candidate of UDUB party, who is neither Isaak nor SNM affiliate successfully captured a lion’s share of both SNM and Isaak votes and claimed the office of presidency as the first elected president of Somaliland. The margin of votes separating between the parties was only a mere 80 votes in favor of UDUB. Considering the weight of the two jerseys Kulmiye candidate wore, accepting defeat was the last thing the party would entertain. The officials of the Kulmiye party reacted to their loss with an outrage and threatened calls for street protests and civil disobedience. President Riyaale was declared the winner, only when the matter was taken to the supreme court of the Somaliland. In the end, the candidate of Kulmiye Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and the threat of his party did not materialize. Politically, this was a debilitating loss to Mr. Silanyo. April 2003 was his best chance to capture the highest office in Somaliland politics. His loss was mainly attributable to his inability to secure the absolute support of his tribe – Habar Jeclo and the lack of well-coordinated political campaign – party manifestos.

Public perception and Kulimey Party

There is a general consensus that the candidate of Kulmiye party Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo has the solid support of his tribe, but this cannot be construed as a coronation or even if such support will earn him the office of presidency in the coming elections is murky at best. Likewise, Kulmiye party seems to be losing its national party status. There is a wide growing perception that the opposition party is reverting to that of a tribal party and this definitely alienated a huge number of its supporters.

The style of the current chairman and his camouflaging interference of the local communities in the Diaspora to select the party delegates for the upcoming conference, clearly support the public perception - “the declining status of the opposition party.” Mr.Silanyo is determined to bring significant numbers of his stooge supporters in the conference to eventually secure his nomination for the chairmanship of the party. Furthermore, the opposition party is yet to secure any meaningful support from Habar Yonis, a very important tribe in the calculus of Somaliland politics. This will surely tip the balance of the election in favour of UDUB party, should Kulmiye fails to attract its share of voter support from this tribe.

Gabiley and the status quo

The population of Gabiley is fast growing and its contribution to the national budget speaks for itself. Consequently, its inhabitants are already showing signs of resentment of being fixated in an unfair status quo, as the need to elevate the status of Gabiley to that of a region is deeply rooted in this society. During the last presidential elections of April 2003, Kulmiye party enjoyed significant support and succeeded to decisively win the popular vote.

Today, the people of Gabiley are feeling that Kulmiye betrayed them, as this party totally ignored to support their aspiration of becoming a region. In addition, the recent allocation of delegates for the upcoming party conference on July 2007 did not sit well with Gabiley community. Kulmiye badly needs to win in Gabiley; however it is hard to predict how this community will cast their votes in the coming presidential elections. There is a very good chance that the opposition party has carelessly squandered the support of this community.

Conclusion

The main Opposition party is neither dynamic nor vibrant, as it failed to effectively execute its functional roles and establish the party’s ideology. Unabashedly; Kulmiye party appears to be poised to repeat the same political tactics of April 2003, reminiscent of an opposition party floating in a state of political and ideological bankruptcy.

This party was supposed to play the role of public monitor and watchdog to encourage the government execute its mandate responsibly. This would have provided checks and balances to the system would have eventually secured the government accountability. Somalilanders were hopeful that the opposition party would conduct its own research to identify the pressing problems the society was facing to eventually develop feasible solutions. Even if the opposition party cannot implement those solutions right –away. It could at least mobilize public opinion in support and press for their immediate adoption by the government in power or move them in the parliament as policy alternatives. In this way it can act as a pressure group rather than merely as agitators and also emerge as the true custodian of public interests. Instead, the main opposition party appears to be slipping into a state of prolonged self indulged torpor. That is why its approach to attracting voter support is akin to that of a guerrilla style political campaigning.

Adam Mohamed Egeh "Mardaadi"
run13@netzero.net
Toronto, Canada

[The_Emperior5]

war kuwaasi meel ma ghaadhanjaan i suport qaraan viva dr gaboose an maxamed xashi cilmi

[fagash_killer]

Now is the time to strike for udub