Somaliland's election laws, 2001 to 2020

Which law governs elections in Somaliland today?

The Elections and Voter Registration Law, Law No. 19/2020, in Somali Xeerka Doorashooyinka iyo Diiwaangelinta Cod-bixiyaasha. It came into force when it was gazetted on 19 October 2020 (Somalilandlaw.com, Electoral Laws). It covers, in one text:

• elections of the President and Vice-President;
• elections of the 82-member House of Representatives;
• elections of district councils across the country; and
• voter registration.

The first vote under it was the combined House of Representatives and local council election of 31 May 2021 (same source). The National Electoral Commission issued codes of conduct for parties (No. 04/2021) and for the media under it (same source). For the results, see Elections in Somaliland.

The House of Elders (Guurti) is not elected under this law. Its members are chosen by other means, and bills on Guurti selection have been debated for years (Somalilandlaw.com).

Which laws did it replace?

Three laws were repealed in October 2020 (same source):

1. Presidential and Local Councils Elections Law, No. 20/2001. It ran the 2002 and 2012 local elections and the 2003, 2010 and 2017 presidential elections. It was amended in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and a sixth amendment schedule was gazetted on 4 February 2017. The government published a consolidated text in Supplement 1 of the Official Gazette on 1 April 2017.
2. House of Representatives Election Law, No. 20-2/2005. It governed the direct election of the 82 MPs in September 2005.
3. Voter Registration Law, No. 37/2007, with amendments in 2008 and later, and its regulations.

What changed along the way?

From the notes kept by Somalilandlaw.com (Electoral Laws):

• December 2011: a presidential decree of 13 December 2011 brought in open lists for local council elections, in place of closed party lists. The same change lowered the minimum age for district council candidates from 35 to 25.
• 2012: a bill on reserved seats for women and for minority groups excluded by birth or descent was put to the House.
• 2017: on 20 June 2017 the President set polling day for 13 November 2017 by decree, after the Commission confirmed the date. The vote had been delayed by more than two years, the last delay because of drought.

How were the 2017 results confirmed?

Under the 2001 law the Commission announced provisional results on 21 November 2017: Kulmiye 305,909 (55.1 percent), Waddani 226,092 (40.73 percent) and UCID 23,141. The Supreme Court received no complaints and confirmed the results on 28 November 2017. Results were annulled at 5 of the 1,642 polling stations, and no vote took place at 4 stations in the far east (Somalilandlaw.com).

An international observer mission of 60 observers from 27 countries visited 355 polling stations, 22 percent of the total. It reported "a largely peaceful and well-organised polling day", with irregularities "not of sufficient scale to have impacted the final result" (same source, quoting the mission report of 14 March 2018).

What about political parties?

The number of parties is set by the constitution, at three. Parties and new political associations are regulated by the Regulation of Political Parties and Associations Law, No. 14/2011, signed on 23 August 2011 (Somalilandlaw.com, Somaliland Legislation). See Waddani, Kulmiye and Kaah.

Related pages

• Laws of Somaliland
• The 2024 Somaliland presidential election