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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001895 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Somaliland Elections Postponed as Parliament 
Tables Impeachment Motions 
 
REF: Nairobi 1834 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) For the fourth time, Somaliland's National Electoral 
Commission announced on September 6 that presidential elections 
would be postponed.  On September 5, 43 legislators from 
Somaliland's two opposition parties tabled a motion in the House of 
Representatives to impeach the President and Vice-President.  During 
the same session, 29 MPs from the ruling party tabled a motion to 
allow MPs to remove the Speaker of the House and his two deputies 
(all representatives from the opposition parties) by a simple 
majority vote.  On September 8 when the legal advisor made the 
recommendation that both motions be debated by parliament, an MP 
instigated a fight in the chambers and reportedly drew a pistol. 
The police responded by locking the chambers of both the upper and 
lower houses of parliament, thus preventing any additional debate 
over the competing impeachment motions.  No shots were fired but 
four MPs were injured and several journalists and members of the 
public were arrested.  The political stalemate continues as public 
frustration mounts along with increased use of force by state 
security forces.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Presidential Elections Postponed 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On September 6, the seven members of the National Electoral 
Commission (NEC) formally announced that the presidential election 
cannot be held on its scheduled date of September 27.  This 
announcement marks the fourth official postponement of Somaliland's 
presidential election.  The NEC members did not set a new timeline 
of election date, stating that the stakeholders would have to agree 
on the way forward.  The representatives told the press the NEC 
members agreed on the following: 
 
-- To reverse the decision reached by four NEC members in which they 
annulled the Voter Registration. 
-- To accept that it is not feasible to hold the Presidential 
election on September 27, 2009 due to technical, political and 
economical reasons. 
-- To allow time for arbitration between the political parties and 
wait till the parties reach a consensus that will determine a 
possible timeline for the election. 
 
The reversal of its July decision to proceed with elections without 
the voter registration list marks a major milestone.  Unfortunately, 
this decision was overshadowed by events at parliament unfolding at 
the same time. 
 
----------------------------- 
Competing Impeachment Motions 
Tabled in Parliament 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On September 5, 43 legislators from Somaliland's two 
opposition parties tabled a motion to impeach President Riyale and 
Vice-President Ahmed Yusuf Yassin in the House of Representatives. 
The motion reportedly accused the President and Vice President of 
crimes including embezzlement of national assets, violation of the 
Constitution, high treason and being "dictators."  During the same 
session, 29 MPs from the UDUB ruling party tabled a motion to amend 
procedural rules to allow MPs to remove the Speaker of the House and 
his two deputies (all representatives from the opposition parties) 
by a simple majority vote.  (Note: At present under the current 
procedural rules, a two-thirds majority of the 82 member parliament 
is required to remove the Speaker and the President and 
Vice-President.) 
 
----------------------- 
Violence Erupts and 
Police Close Parliament 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The morning of September 8, Ahmed Ali Kahin, parliament's 
legal advisor, submitted his findings that both motions were legal 
and could be debated by the legislative body.  Kahin said that since 
the impeachment motion was filed first, it should be debated first. 
Shortly after the formal opening of debate, one of the MPs from the 
 
NAIROBI 00001895  002 OF 002 
 
 
ruling UDUB party, Abdirahman Mohamed Jama, started shouting at the 
speaker.  Opposition MPs stepped in and an altercation between 
ensued.  Jama reportedly drew a pistol from his briefcase, but no 
shots were fired (the gun reportedly jammed). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Police forces entered the legislative hall and the Speaker 
closed the session.  Although the MPS urged the police to arrest 
only the MP who had pulled the gun, the commander reportedly told 
the representatives that he had orders to close the building.  The 
security forces ushered all MPs out and reportedly arrested several 
members of the media and the public who were at the session.  Four 
MPs were injured.  Police locked the chambers used by both houses of 
parliament, including the space where the Guurti (upper House of 
Parliament) convenes. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The security presence in the capital is heavy and since 
September 6, all of Hargeisa's main streets near the Parliament and 
Presidential compound have been blocked by police.  Most of our 
contacts told us that the disturbance in parliament was calculated, 
similar to the altercation initiated by six UDUB MPs on August 24 
(reftel), to prevent an impeachment motion.  When we spoke to 
representatives of the opposition parties, they believed they had 
the votes to support the impeachment of the President and 
Vice-President. 
 
---------------------- 
Guurti Takes a Stand 
On the Political Crisis 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Somaliland's Guurti (House of Elders) has played a 
constructive mediating role and appointed a committee to evaluate 
the current political situation.  On September 5, the committee 
offered its suggestions which the representatives overwhelming 
passed (55 for, 2 abstained, Speaker did not vote).  The Guurti 
decided on the following: 
 
-- The members will be neutral to all the political parties. 
-- The members must not join the political parties. 
-- The members will respect any consensus reached by the political 
parties which is for the interest of all the people in Somaliland. 
If the political parties don't reach a consensus soon, the House of 
Elders will implement its constitutional duties. 
 
After the vote, the Speaker of the Guurti, Suleiman Mohamud, 
reportedly said "the President must focus on the interest of the 
people instead of holding on to his position; otherwise he must step 
down from the presidency as a candidate for the Presidential 
election." 
 
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Comment 
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¶8.  (SBU) With the official postponement of the presidential 
elections for the fourth time, all stakeholders and the public are 
growing increasingly frustrated.  Many Somalilanders consider recent 
events in parliament to be part of the government's plan to stay in 
power, at all costs.  By closing down the parliament building, it 
has prevented any debate on the impeachment motions and the Guurti 
from implementing its "constitutional duties."  Opposition leaders 
told us their supporters are calling for public protest, but they 
fear that unlike the historic peaceful protests of August 20, this 
time violence could ensue.  The government is increasingly relying 
on the use of state security forces to maintain a more aggressive 
security posture.  In this environment, mediation remains stalled 
and none of the political parties has mentioned the voter 
registration list, the composition of the NEC, or any of the other 
prerequisites to plan a presidential election.  We continue to 
engage with our international counterparts and will offer our 
position on political proposals to be carried back to Hargeisa by a 
mediation team likely to be co-led by the UK and Ethiopia. 
 
RANNEBERGER