Ahead of Somaliland’s presidential and parties election on 13 November 2024, the Brenthurst Foundation Election Monitoring Mission has been deployed to observe polling day. This marks the second Mission that Brenthurst Foundation is hosting in Somaliland, where it has been conducting work in support of democracy and development for more than two decades.
The Mission consists of 20 international observers from across 12 countries and is led by the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Moeketsi Majoro. For election day, the observers have been divided into four teams and will be deployed across Somaliland focusing on the following four areas: Hargeisa, Borama, Burco, and Berbera. These areas were chosen to ensure a geographic spread and a rural-urban mix.
On election day, the teams will closely observe the opening and closing of polling stations along with monitoring proceedings to help ensure the election is free and fair. The observer missions across Somaliland have a significant role to play on election day as 2648 stations open across the country.
Following the election, we will be compiling a mission report on the events of the day with the key findings being presented to the President of Somaliland. The full findings will be presented at a press conference at 10am on 15 November at Assod Hotel, Hargeisa.
Since arriving in Somaliland on 9 November, the team has been involved in an intensive set of preparatory meetings with a wide set of stakeholders including the President of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi, Finance Minister Dr Saad Ali Shire, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) Musa Hassan Yousuf, and the presidential candidates from Waddani Party, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, and the Justice and Development Party (UCID), Faysal Ali Warabe. Alongside political stakeholders, observers have met key civil society stakeholders including the Somaliland Non-State Actors Forum (SONSAF) and Mohamd Farah Hersi from the Academy for Peace and Development.
Commenting on the Mission, Dr Greg Mills, Director of the Brenthurst Foundation said, “We are delighted to be back in Somaliland for a second Election Monitoring Mission. With a top team of international observers, we are excited to do our part in ensuring a democratic election”.
