Listen to Part 2 and the Q&A here.

Somaliland declared independence on 18 May 1991. Since then, the country has enjoyed effective autonomy and established significant international cooperation and diplomatic ties with other countries. It has held a series of elections in the presence of international electoral observers.

On 13 November 2017, Somalilanders went to the polls to choose their president. The exercise, which ended peacefully, was the third in Somaliland since it adopted a multiparty system in 2001. It attracted over 60 international electoral observers from 27 countries, who were deployed to the 6 Somaliland regions to verify the credibility and fairness of the process.

On 21 November 2017, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a panel of international electoral observers to discuss their preliminary observations of the electoral process.

Panelists

Ahmed Farag
Legal Analyst

Michael Walls
Chief Observer

Susan Mwape
Election Analyst

Conrad Heine
Media Coordinator