No, I say to those of you as jaded as me, I’m not talking about the Central African Republic.
I’m actually talking about Somaliland, a place that is not even remotely close to anywhere I have been and about which I know impressively little. But I know that presidential elections — in 10 days — in a territory unrecognized as a country are probably a big deal.
A friend of mine pointed me to photographer Pete Chonka’s blog post about the upcoming election. It’s sort of election season on the continent — Burundi (and Somaliland, apparently!) this month, Rwanda next, the CAR maybe by the end of the year, then Uganda and Liberia and DRC next year — but the one thing most of the countries on that list have going on is that they are, technically, countries. Whatever the percentage of aid that makes up their annual budget; however reliant they are on ex-colonial powers or the ‘international community’ (bonus points for a good explanation of the difference) for electoral budgets and state security. Somaliland is still just…a land. Yet unrecognized, it’s going to elect a president.
According to Pete, the elections there are making odd bed-fellows of the Shabaab and the transitional government:
The ‘internationally recognized’ Transitional Federal Government (the TFG) has remained quiet about electoral developments in the north, though many here believe that, whilst it remains battling for survival behind the barricades in Mogadishu, it retains an interest in seeing the election fail in Somaliland. This is an interest arguably shared by the ‘Islamist’ militia groups who appear to be extending their grip over even larger areas of south central Somalia.
Wherever you re in the world, and whatever your electoral calendar (or denial thereof), the enemy of your enemy is always, it seems, your friend.
….not that I’m suggesting the TFG has actively done anything to subvert the election (they lack the capacity anyway, I would imagine) but they do share an interest with other armed groups in the south in seeing somaliland’s political development stall. In the north, however the pan-Somali ideal (secular or ‘Islamist’ or whatever) is pretty much dead and it’s all about elections, development and recognition. Of course whether international recognition is actually helpful for state-building/peace – just look at the TFG – is an entirely different question….
Fascinating. Maybe it turns out to be better for state-building if no one agrees you’re a state? Let’s watch and see.