Waagacusub.net- Although Somalia has become a place of tribal enclaves and some parts become a hell on Earth because of civil wars, Somaliland, Northwestern of Somalia, is a region that the world and the Somali people do not know much about its politics and power grab.

Before 1960, Somaliland was British Somaliland Protectorate. After Independence in 1960, Somaliland has joined the southern part of Somalia which was an Italian Colony. After unification, Somalia was governed by civil and military governments till 1991 after which no central governments has controlled the whole country. The northwestern part of Somalia, the present Somaliland, has been peaceful and stable under self-declared unknown and unrecognised sovereign state. 

The focus of interest of this article is Somaliland. After Bare’s regime was ousted in 1991 by a coalition of clan-based opposition groups, the Somali National Movement (SNM) has severed relations from other groups.  SNM and clan elders declared Somaliland as an independent country. Somaliland has been relatively calm and peaceful compared to other parts of the Southern Somalia. The self-proclaimed but unrecognised Government of Somaliland is suffering from lack of fairness in division of power in the Government and in other governmental institutions and this might change the peace in Somaliland. 

The power-sharing in Somaliland is based on a coalition of main clans. However, the power-sharing and the ratio used are false and do not come from a reliable statistics based on voter registration or a count of the population in each region.  All Government employees, including Government ministries, Supreme Court Justices, General Directors of Government institutions are all hired by the President. The power-sharing in Somaliland is dominated by one tribe in the region. The power has almost exclusively in the hands of that tribe. The other tribes in the region barely have power in the decision making of all Government institutions. The following statistics gathered from the present power-sharing in the country shows the facts and truths about the lopsided powering-sharing:

Government of Somaliland shares of the tribes

Tribes	Ministries/Assistant Ministeries	General Directors	Other Institutions & Commissions	Total
Essa	1	0	0	1
Gadabuursi	3 & one Assistant	3	2	8
Harti	3  &  one Assistant	4	0	8
Habar Awal	5	6	7	18
Arab	2  & one assistant	3	2	8
Garhajis	4 & 2 assistants	5	7	18
Habar Je’alo	3	3	4	10
Minorities	0	1	2	3
Tolje’alo	0	1	2	3
Ayub	0	2	0	2
Fiqishini	0	0	1	1
Total				75

From the above table, Issaq Clan has an absolute majority of 62 out 75. That is a percent of almost 83%.

This table below also shows the shares each clan gets from the Senate ( House of Elders )

Tribe	Number of Elders in the Senate
Isaaq	52
Gadabuursi	9
Essa	4
Harti	14
Madigan	1
Gabooye	1
Akisho	1
	Total: 82

On the basis of the above table, Isak has 52 out of 82. This is a quite majority for one tribe in the region.

The table below highlights the members of Parliament based on regions:

Hargeisa region  20 seats

Togdheer Region15 seats

Awdal Region13 seats

Sanaag Region12 seats

Sool Region 12 seats

Sahil Region12 seats

Isak has also more than two-third majority in the Parliament which is based on regions and not on registered voters.  

Besides all of the above, the security agencies and the military of Somaliland are completely controlled by Isak officials.  Also there are 10 representatives as ambassadors in the world and all of them are from Isak.

The power in Somaliand lies in the hands of only one tribe ( Isak ) and the other people in the region are losing patience and hope and are suffering brutality from some of the clans from Isak. Some clans ( Gadabuursi & the Harti ) are feeling the heat and becoming restless because of the Isak domination of all institutions. The executive branch, the Military, the Justice System, and the security Systems are all dominated by Isak.  Other peoples are marginalized and are not included in all important decisions. 

When the power of the all Government institutions lies in the hands of the members of one tribe, the danger of being the country destabilized is becoming real. The other peoples have no choice except to reject the domination and seek a fair balanced power-sharing. The statuesque cannot continue in the same manner.  The flood gates of that domination have opened up and the other peoples are avoiding to be taken away by those floods. Some have taken the road to Somalia and formed exile governments which represent their own regions. Awdalstate and SSC are becoming more visible in the international arena. These two political groups are the outcome of the domination of Isak in the political and governing institutions. The frustrations from lack of justice and having no power in the government systems have taken a deep root in some parts of Somaliland. Those frustrations are beyond repair and causing Somaliland to disintegrate into tribal regions and possibly to inter-clan wars. Where there is no justice, the Government officials are hostages to the murderers, and an absolute majority lies in the hands of one tribe, the other peoples have the right to seek other alternatives. 

The right for publicly denouncing the power grab has become a crime. The right for justice is ignored.  To question about power-sharing has become irrelevant at this stage of the game. Innocent people are being killed on the roads, in their houses, and in their fields. The murderers are not brought to justice.  Some communities are fleeing their ancestral homes and fields and becoming refugees among their tribes. The western and eastern part of Somaliland are absent from security discussions and high political agendas. This power grab is happening every day and in the eyes of the marginalized clans. Brutality and imprisonment have become the rule of the law. 

The world and the Somali people should know that the dominant tribe ( Isak ) is only less than 40% of the population based on unfounded and unconfirmed statistics .  The other more than 60% of Somalilanders who are marginalized has reached a verdict:  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

By Dahir Alasow

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