The linkage between money and politics is a powerful one, with implications for democracy,
especially in new democracies. Political parties financing laws and regulations, through which
political parties and candidates for office declare their funding sources, are among the main
instruments for transparency. The relationships between party financing and corruption are so
significant that to ignore party funding is simply to open wide the donor for corruption
(Okechukwu Eme, 2014).
Looking in to the case of Somaliland, one realizes that there is much that needed to be done. In
contemporary Somaliland political history, political financing is both necessity and a problem.
There are no strong laws and regulations regarding the party and political financing in Somaliland.
It is obvious that some of the political parties are owned by certain clans. The patriotic or
ideological values among the parties have limited value within the party. Now, Somaliland
democratization process is in a crossroad, which need re-evaluation, about what is wrong and the
weaknesses of the democratic process which is 16 years old.
METHODOLOGY
CPA has interviewed 30 individuals, whom 21 of them were from the three political parties in
Somaliland, namely KULMIYE, UCID and WADANI. Seven (7) key informants were selected
from each party, including senior party members, some of the presidential candidates and other
individuals who were responsible for party finance units. Moreover, 9 other individuals from civil
society and the international organizations were also interviewed; those individuals were
independent from the political parties.
These individuals have been selected due to their extensive knowledge on the subject matter. All
interviews were carried out anonymously to protect the privacy of the individuals and to let them
express their ideas openly. The research was started on February 2018.
SOURCES OF PARTY FUNDING
Formal election cost
The National Electoral Commission is the main institution responsible in registering voters and
holding an election. Their exercise requires resources. The government of Somaliland and donor
partners contributed to the election costs. It is difficult to find out the exact amount of money the
international community donated to Somaliland elections because resources were mobilized by
different institutions who managed it differently. The National Electoral Commission does not
provide public reports on all funds they have received during the course of election. In his Annual
Address to the Parliament, the president of Somaliland, Muse Behi Abdi, stated that 2017
presidential election costed 24 million dollars in which $13 million (54%) of it was paid by the
Government of Somaliland whereas the international Community contributed $11 million 46%.
Therefore, the overall of money directly spent to in the administration of the election was 24
million dollars.
Please Read the Full Report here: Sources of campaign financing in 2017 presidential election