The Somaliland House of Representatives’ Sub-Committee on Internal Affairs and Security presented to the House of Representatives an amendment to the Electoral Law, and suggested that the amendments be approved.
Some of the amendments and some of its clauses have been repealed, including Article 76 of the Electoral Law, whose Clause 5 deals with the quota seats for women, but the House Home Affairs Committee said they had suspended the article, as it was unconstitutional because all Somaliland citizens were equal before the law including during elections, and therefore there was no quota in the constitution.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives ‘Internal Affairs Committee, MP Abdillahi Balaki, while explaining to the House the amendments and suspensions, said, “Article 36, Paragraph 1’ states that all citizens are equal except for what is notpnot by Islamic law. ” “The commission has made it clear that Article 76, Paragraph 5 and Article 18, Paragraphs, have been suspended,” he said, citing the Constitution, adding that he had suspended clauses in Article 76 of the Electoral Law. 2 and 3 are against the Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland and do not allow any quota and give equal rights to the citizens of Somaliland, therefore Article 76 Paragraph 5 and Article 18 Paragraph 2 and 3 have been repealed
Lawmaker Abdillahi Balaki also spoke about the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives. , especially in the remote regions of somalia, that it is necessary to have a system of proportional representation that is acceptable and agreed upon by the people living in the regions and districts of the country. That the issue of the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives is not only legal, but also a political and environmental issue, and therefore a lasting solution is needed. We urge the House of Representatives to take a decision on the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives, as required by Article 78 of this Law. ”
Finally, the Electoral Code amended and supplemented by the Home Affairs Committee was distributed to the Members of the House for reading, for approval in the coming days.
