Strong opposition parties are needed in the democratic countries in
Africa and Somaliland in particular. Those parties are usually
directing the government to the issues that need an immediate action
or those areas neglected by the authorities. Those opposition
parties are really positive for the ruling parties only if they take
then as a positive.
It is not different when we come to the Somaliland issue. We have
two political parties besides the ruling party. In one angle they
all have one vision, that is Somaliland. But when you look deeply
specially into the opposition parties, then you realize that there
is a lot to be done about their approach, agenda, criticizing the
government and influencing people. One should not wonder about those
we mentioned because we all know that we had 20 years under a
military rule and other 9 years of corruption between 1960 and 1969.
Somaliland is like a little child that is learning how to crawl,
stand up, walk then run. It is only 17 years that Somaliland existed
but it is only 7 years that we practice a multiple political
parties. It is normal we still have some errors to be corrected and
some issues to be understood before we reach the final destination,
the long awaited recognition from the international community.
Tens of websites, many local newspapers, some TV stations and so
many news blogs are now supporting the opposition parties and
raising their issue to the public. The question is; will they be
still supporting them if one of those parties win the elections or
they will make a U turn and come against them ??
The main task of the political parties is to correct the current
government whenever they do a mistake and to represent those ideas
of opposing the current administration. If the government did well
on one issue they should appreciate, if the government did a mistake
they should talk and raise it to the concerned officers or to the
president. Their role is also to develop the community from their
side, to take part of the national events, to encourage towards
development, to work hard to pull other people and/or institutions
to the country, to take a major role in the recognition appeals.
For the moment the problem is that the political parties are somehow
far away from what we’ve mentioned. They seem to be working to bring
the public against the government and it sometimes cross all the
borders when you see them using anything to make that objecting
true. Recently most of the national events went without any
participation from the political parties, many developments have
been done without the appreciation of those parties. The national
days are not for the current government and we should all celebrate.
If the government is successful on one issue, it is for the national
interest and not owned only by the government, the opposition should
appreciate it as they like to be appreciated for their achievements.
It is a matter of recognizing each other.
The government should also know that these opposition parties are
representing the people and they only want to correct. It only takes
a matter of respect to the opposing ideas. Not everyone who opposes
your ideas are your enemies. People want to be free to have their
own opinions, criticism and believe, the government should let that
go. The ruling party should know that the government is for all,
they should include those political parties into their
consultations, national events and the development of the country.
To conclude the issue, the country is for all, the government
officials of today can be the opposition of tomorrow, and the
opposition of today can be the ruling party of tomorrow. If people
give the democracy its rights, then we should all know that the
official positions are in loop and can go to anyone anytime.
Everyone have to keep in mind that the way he treats today will be
treated him tomorrow. Let’s forget the little differences of the
ideas and work for the national interest and for the people.
