They say wherever the USA state of Iowa goes in an election, so goes the rest of the country. Is it equally true that wherever the State of Puntland goes, so goes Somalia?
Puntland State of Somalia was created in 1998 as the first pillar for the foundation of the 2nd Somali Republic. The establishment of other Federal Member States followed suit. Puntland sponsored the federal system of governance in Somalia, and rest of the country, region by region, followed suit. Other member states had adopted Puntland Constitution, replacing only the name of Puntland with their respective names of the state like Galmudugh State of Somalia, Southwest State of Somalia, Hirshabelle State of Somalia and Jubaland State of Somalia. There is nothing wrong in modeling after successful enterprise. Human progress and experiences indicate similar copycat modeling. People follow the leader.
We have been saying all along that One Person One Vote (1P1V) wouldn’t happen in Somalia until Puntland showed the way. It is happening now with pilot vote registrations in Puntland towns of Eyl (Nugaal Region), Qardho (Karkaar Region) and Uffayn (Bari or Bareeda Region). If successful, all the rest of Puntland towns will follow this vote registration lead. This vote registration would be the first critical phase for general elections for state presidency and House of people’s Representatives. By experience, the rest of Somalia will follow Puntland experiment in democracy post-Civil War.
Stay tuned.
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