Political parties and movements
Waddani (Somaliland National Party)
Waddani is a political party in Somaliland, founded in 2012 by Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi 'Irro'. It won the most seats in the 2021 parliamentary election (31 of 82), and its leader Irro won the presidency on 13 November 2024 with 63.92 percent of the vote. In the 2024 party contest it came first, keeping national party status for ten years.
What is Waddani?
Waddani is one of the three national political parties of Somaliland. Its full Somali name is Xisbiga Waddani ee Somaliland, which Wikipedia translates as "Patriotic Party of Somaliland" (Wikipedia, Somaliland National Party). Its headquarters are in Hargeisa (same source).
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as "Irro", founded the party in 2012, before that year's local elections (Xisbiga Waddani, About Waddani, archived 2020). Irro had been Speaker of the House of Representatives before that. See Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro.
Why are there only three parties?
Somaliland's constitution allows only three national parties at a time. The Academy for Peace and Development says the rule was written to avoid the many clan-based parties of the 1960s (APD, A Vote for Change, May 2021). New associations compete for the three places every ten years (University of Tartu, De Facto States Research Unit, 2024).
Waddani won one of the three places in 2012. It replaced the United Peoples' Democratic Party (UDUB), the party of former President Dahir Riyale Kahin (Institute for Security Studies, October 2017).
What does the party say it stands for?
The party's 2017 programme proposed public health care, more spending on schools and a 30 percent share of parliament seats for women (Xisbiga Waddani, Barnaamijka Xisbiga, archived 2020). Europe Elects described it in 2021 as leaning centre-left on the economy, with a strong place for Islamic values and support for more decentralisation (Europe Elects, 31 May 2021). A University of Tartu review of 2021 called Waddani "populist" (Kristel Vits, University of Tartu, 24 Jan 2022).
Who leads it?
- Founder and 2017 and 2024 candidate: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi "Irro" (sources above).
- Chair from 16 November 2021: Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, elected at the party's second general convention (BBC Somali, 16 Nov 2021; MENAFN, 15 Nov 2021).
- Vice President of Somaliland from December 2024: Mohamed Aw-Ali Abdi, Irro's running mate (Wikipedia).
How has Waddani done in elections?
Local elections
- 2012: 244,795 votes, 30.19 percent, 68 of 323 council seats, second place (Wikipedia, Waddani, election tables).
- 2021: 260,841 votes, 37.83 percent, 79 of 220 council seats, second place (same source).
President
- 13 November 2017: Irro won 226,092 votes (40.73 percent). Muse Bihi Abdi of Kulmiye won with 305,909 (55.10 percent). Turnout was 80.32 percent of 704,198 registered voters (Somaliland NEC, final polling-station results, archived).
- 13 November 2024: Irro won 407,908 votes (63.92 percent) against 225,519 (34.81 percent) for Muse Bihi Abdi. Bihi conceded and Irro took office in December 2024 (Scott Pegg, University of Tartu, 9 Dec 2024). See the 2024 Somaliland presidential election.
Parliament
- 31 May 2021: in the first parliamentary vote since 2005, Waddani won 31 of 82 seats, the most of any party (Reuters, 6 Jun 2021). It then joined UCID in a coalition holding 52 seats, against 30 for Kulmiye (AFP via VOA, 10 Jun 2021).
Party status
- 13 November 2024: in the contest for the three national party places, Waddani came first with 216,284 votes, ahead of Kaah (131,507) and Kulmiye (108,100). The three keep party status for ten years (Somaliland NEC, interim results).
How Waddani worked with Kaah in 2024
Before the 2024 vote, the new Kaah association backed Irro for president. Somaliland Chronicle reported the alliance in August 2024 (Somaliland Chronicle, 5 Aug 2024). See Kaah.
Related pages
Sources
- Wikipedia, Somaliland National Party · en.wikipedia.org
- Xisbiga Waddani, About Waddani, archived 2020 · web.archive.org
- APD, A Vote for Change, May 2021 · apd-ipp.com
- University of Tartu, De Facto States Research Unit, 2024 · defactostates.ut.ee
- Institute for Security Studies, October 2017 · media.africaportal.org
- Xisbiga Waddani, Barnaamijka Xisbiga, archived 2020 · web.archive.org
- Europe Elects, 31 May 2021 · web.archive.org
- Kristel Vits, University of Tartu, 24 Jan 2022 · sisu.ut.ee
- BBC Somali, 16 Nov 2021 · bbc.com
- MENAFN, 15 Nov 2021 · menafn.com
- Somaliland NEC, final polling-station results, archived · web.archive.org
- Reuters, 6 Jun 2021 · reuters.com
- AFP via VOA, 10 Jun 2021 · voanews.com
- Somaliland NEC, interim results · slnec.net
- Somaliland Chronicle, 5 Aug 2024 · somalilandchronicle.com
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Where this matters
Same era
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Keep reading
- Political parties laws of Somalia, 2016 and 2024Somalia's federal laws on political parties: the 2016 Political Parties Law, the 2024 law passed with the new election laws, the debate over limits on the number of parties, and party registration for the 2027 elections.
- Kulmiye (Peace, Unity and Development Party)Kulmiye, Somaliland's Peace, Unity and Development Party: its founding in 2002, chairs, two presidents, and every election result from 2002 to 2024.
- UCID (Justice and Welfare Party)UCID, Somaliland's Justice and Welfare Party (2001 to 2024): founder Faysal Ali Warabe, its social-democratic programme, every election result, and how it lost party status.
- Kaah (Kaah Alliance for Equality and Development)Kaah, Somaliland's newest national party: founding in 2022, its leader Mohamoud Hashi Abdi, the 2024 party contest, its alliance with Waddani and its positions since.
- Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP)Somalia's Justice and Solidarity Party: its launch in May 2025, leaders, membership figures, results in the 2025 and 2026 votes, and the criticism it has faced.
- Tayo Political PartyTayo, Farmaajo's party: its founding in 2012, its years in power from 2017 to 2022, its leaders, presidential results and its place in the opposition.