Somaliland Joint Parliamentary & Local Councils Elections 2021: Promises and priorities

On May 31st, 2021, Somaliland finally succeeded in conducting the long-overdue elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) and Local councils (LC) This was seen as a remarkable achievement for Somaliland’s democratization process.

The people of Somaliland were waiting for these elections with much anticipation. One population group that was particularly hopeful that the elections would mark a new beginning was the youth. The Somaliland youth have been facing challenges such as soaring rates of unemployment which reduces their economic power, inadequate social-economic infrastructure, and corruption. Thus, the fact that the youth were well represented in the elections is an indication that young people’s voices will be heard both in parliament and local council. The House of Representatives, in particular, is required to pursue further meaningful and inclusive participation of people in public decision-making processes through the legislation it passes. The previous parliament performed poorly in its oversight and representation role for most of its 15 year reign. This greatly necessitates structural changes for appropriate policy legislation to be initiated. There are also high expectations among the general public that local councils will improve service delivery by the local government.

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