REPORT Domestic Election Observation Mission Final report on Somalia’s 2016 –17 electoral process June 2017 Domestic Election Observation Mission Final report on Somalia’s 2016 –17 electoral process SAFERWORLD, PUNSAA AND SOSCENSA JUNE 2017 Acknowledgements This report was prepared jointly by two platforms, the Puntland Non-State Actors Association (PUNSAA) and Somalia South Central Non-State Actors (SOSCENSA) in collaboration with Saferworld. Danida’s Participatory Governance and Peacebuilding (PGP) Programme, financed by the Kingdom of Denmark, supported the work of the Domestic Election Observation Mission. The platforms are grateful to all who wrote, edited, designed, and contributed to the finalisation of this report. The report’s authors recognise and extend their gratitude to those who have either contributed valuable input or edited the report. These include: Peter Mackenzie, Somalia country director, Saferworld; Abdijalil Afqarshe, Saferworld PGP programme manager; Oliver Chevreau, former Saferworld PGP programme manager; Marjorie Walla, Saferworld senior technical adviser; Jatinder Padda, editor; Bashir Said, PUNSAA executive director; Dini Mohamed Dini, SOSCENSA chairman; and Faysal Ahmed Warsame, PUNSAA chairman. The authors would also like to thank the IT experts: Emmanual Oluka, external IT expert, and Ibrahim Khalif, local IT expert. Appreciation is also extended to the National Democratic Institute, who hosted the survey database on their servers. Authors Abdulkadir Sh. Mohamoud Salah, consultant Abdiweli Ali Abdule, PUNSAA PGP project coordinator Ubaid Hersi Hashi, SOSCENSA PGP project coordinator © Saferworld, June 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. Saferworld welcomes and encourages the utilisation and dissemination of the material included in this publication. Contents Acronyms Executive summary i 1. Introduction 1 The Domestic Election Observation Group 1 Methodology 3 2. Historical and political background: an overview 7 3. The 2016 electoral framework 12 Background 13 The National Leadership Forum 14 Electoral institutions 15 Electoral processes and procedures 16 4. Pre-election period assessment 20 Political environment 20 Public outreach and voter education 21 Campaigning 22 Use of public resources 22 Media environment 23 Women’s participation 23 Minority clans’ participation 24 Complaints and disputes 24 Security 26 5. The Upper House election 27 Preparations 27 Before voting 29 During voting 29 After voting 29 6. House of the People election 31 Preparations 31 Before voting 31 During voting 32 After voting 34 7. Elections of the speakers of the two houses of parliament 36 Upper House speaker and deputy speaker elections 36 House of the People speaker and deputy speakers elections 39 Election day 41 8. Presidential election 44 Pre-election period 44 Election day 46 9. Post-election events 49 Post-election violence 49 Federal/state dynamics 49 Nullifications and election petitions 50 10. Election disputes, complaints and incidents 51 Independent Election Dispute Resolution Team 51 Complaints and disputes in the pre-election period 51 Complaints and disputes during the election 52 Complaints, disputes and incidents in the post-election period 55 11. Conclusion and recommendations 59 Conclusions 59 Recommendations 60 APPENDIX 1. Civil society platforms PUNSAA and SOSCENSA 62 APPENDIX 2. Standards for ‘free and fair’ 2016 elections in Somalia 64 Acronyms AMISOM African Union Mission in Somalia NSA Non-state actors AU African Union PEC Parliamentary election committees CSOs Civil society organisations PEMC Presidential Election Monitoring Committee DEOM Domestic Election Observation Mission PFC Provisional Federal Constitution ECA Electoral cycle approach PGP Participatory Governance and Peace EU European Union Programme FGS Federal Government of Somalia PUNSAA Puntland Non-State Actors Association FIEIT Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team SIEITs State indirect election implementation teams FMSs Federal Member States SNA Somali National Army HOP House of the People (Lower House) SOSCENSA Somalia South Central Non-State Actors ICT Information and communications technology SRC Supreme Revolutionary Council ICU Islamic Courts Union SRRC Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council IEDRT Independent Electoral Dispute Resolution Team SRSG Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN to Somalia IFCC Independent Federal Constitution Commission STOs Short-term observers IGAD Inter-Governmental Authority on Development STOTLs Short-term observer team leaders LTOs Long-term observers TFG Transitional Federal Government MOU Memorandum of understanding TFP Transitional Federal Parliament MP Member of Parliament TOR Terms of reference NCF National Consultative Forum TNG Transitional National Government NIEC National Independent Electoral Commission UH Upper House NISA National Intelligence Security Agency UN United Nations NLF National Leadership Forum UNSOM United Nations Mission in Somalia Election timetable October November December January February Somaliland HOP election 6, 10, 12, 14, 1, 18, 19, 29 16, 19, 22, 25, 27 UH election 8, 16 7 Puntland HOP election 5, 6, 13, 14, 11, 12 31 23 (re-election day of the nullified seat) UH election 20 Galmudug HOP election 10, 13, 16, 17, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11 2 19, 22, 26, 28, (re-election day 29, 30 of the nullified seat) UH election 15, 16 Southwest HOP election 8, 9, 10, 12, 1, 3, 5, 3 17, 18, 19, 20, (re-election day 21, 22, 23, 24, of the nullified seat) 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 UH election 19 Jubaland HOP election 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24 UH election 19 HirShabelle HOP election 16, 18, 22, 23, 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 3 26, 27, 28 (re-election day of the nullified seat) UH election 9, 10 Banadir/Mog HOP election 30 4 17 UH election (does not have an UH) i Executive summary THIS REPORT looks at the context before, during, and after the 2016–17 Somalia election period, describing the electoral process and the formation of various electoral bodies. It is hoped that the findings of this report will provide the federal government, civil society, and the international community with lessons to help support and improve future electoral processes in the country. In 2016 Somalia was unable to organise universal suffrage elections within the Provisional Federal Constitution’s (PFC) timeframe, because none of the prerequisites for implementing universal elections – such as peace and security, political stability, functional institutions, the establishment of a political party system, and the finalisation of a constitutional review process – had been successfully completed. As the PFC states that the president’s and the federal parliament’s tenure expires at the end of four years, the then-parliament amended the constitution in June 2016 for them to remain in office until a new president and parliament were sworn in. An alternative electoral framework for the Upper House (UH) and House of the People (HOP) elections – the indirect elections process – was negotiated through the National Leadership Forum (NLF), an extra-constitutional body formed to guide the 2016 political transition process. In place of universal suffrage, 135 clan elders selected 14,025 delegates from across the Federal Member States (FMSs) and Somaliland to vote for HOP members, 51 delegates for each HOP seat. A new UH of 54 members was also elected, with candidates first nominated by the FMSs’ executives and then elected by their respective state parliaments. The electoral process was designed to overcome a political impasse following the end of parliamentary and presidential terms on 10 September 2016. The NLF released an electoral calendar in June 2016, which quickly fell behind schedule when the Federal Indirect Election Implementation Team (FIEIT) announced that the electoral process would be delayed by more than one month, which was then extended, a situation which led to a political and constitutional crisis. Consequently, the elections were conducted partly within the constitutional framework and partly with directives provided by the NLF. The NLF was later criticised for interfering with the functions of the electoral bodies and overruling some of their decisions. Electoral management bodies: Given the limited timeframe available, the established electoral bodies – the Federal Indirect Election Implementation Team, State Indirect Election implementation Team (SIEIT), and Independent Electoral Dispute Resolution Team (IEDRT) – faced many challenges in fulfilling their mandates. There were numerous reports of tensions between the FIEIT, the SIEITs, and IEDRT, as well as confusion over their exact roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, complaints were made that these institutions were not neutral and were subject to political interference. In addition, PUNSAA and SOSCENSA long-term observers (LTOs) faced challenges ii DOMESTIC ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION FINAL REPORT ON SOMALIA’S 2016–17 ELECTORAL PROCESS in the pre-election period; for example, delays in the accreditation of observers by FIEIT; restrictions from FIEIT to the number of observers per organisation; and accreditation limited to observing the election days’ events. Furthermore, the LTOs were denied access to the election venue for the presidential elections. Campaigns and campaign financing: While there was no official campaign