Mohamed.O.Nur

President Dahir Riyale Kahin

Despite of Somaliland three political parties' differences, Somaliland people are in strong agreement that the Somaliland constitution rights and values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented actions of the Riyale administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power.

As we just celebrated the 15 th Anniversary of Somaliland victory of re-establishing their own sovernity and stability, the Riyale administration and the executive branch has been deliberately broke the 19 th Amendment of Legislative term rules, which clearly stated that “The Supreme Court and the president can forward their motions of extending the Somaliland Legislative Committee terms to the Parliament and the Somaliland Congress can approve or decline the motion.

As we all know by now, the President and the Supreme Court acted alone by extending the Senate Office term without getting an approval from the congress. This is a deliberate act of ignoring and breaking the Somaliland Constitution and the President must take full responsibility on this and must be impeach by his presidential office immediately.

It is very imperative that Somaliland government officials respect Somaliland Constitution and that respect for the rule of law is restored.

So many of Somaliland educators, intellectuals, Political Parties, Saladin, Students, Teachers, businessmen, private citizens, government employees must sound an alarm and call upon our fellow citizens to put aside political differences and join with every Somaliland Diaspora or back home in demanding that our Constitution be defended and preserved.

A president who breaks the Somaliland Constitution and the law of country is a threat to the very structure of our government. Somaliland Citizens were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. Indeed, they recognized that the structure of Somaliland government they had enshrined in our Constitution-our system of checks and balances-was designed with a central purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law. As John Adams said: “The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them, to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men.”

An executive who arrogates to himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the congress or act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the Somaliland Citizens sought to nullify in the Constitution-an all-powerful executive too reminiscent of the King from whom they had broken free. In other words of James Madison, “the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may just be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

Vigilant adherence to the rule of law strengthens our democracy and strengthens Somaliland cross-road. It ensures that those who govern us operate within our constitutional structure, which means that our democratic institutions play their indispensable role in shaping policy and determining the direction our nation. It means that the people of Somaliland ultimately determine its course and not executive officials operating in secret without constraint.

The rule of law makes us stronger by ensuring that decisions will be tested, studied, reviewed and examined through the processes of government that are designed to improve policy. And the knowledge that they will review prevents over-reaching and checks the accretion of power.

A commitment to openness, truthfulness and accountability also helps our country avoid many serious mistakes. Recently, for example, we have learned that the Somaliland President hold a secret meeting with so-called president of Puntland Mr. Adde Muse at Yemen and again in Addis-Ababa. When he was asked his progress on those meetings, he then replied, I can't discuss in full details and lightly mentioned that he had made some progress on his last trip to Addis-Ababa. Secondly, he insulted the Somaliland Congress by saying that they are still learning the functions of their Parliamentarian duties/roles and when they are capable to do that, and then I will work with them.

Somaliland citizens would have been better off knowing the truth and avoiding all these above mentioned colossal mistakes.

Once violated, the rule of laws is in danger. Unless stopped, lawlessness grows. The greater the power of the executive grows, the more difficult it becomes for the other branches to perform their constitutional roles. As the executive acts outside it's constitutionally prescribed role and is able to control access to information that would expose its actions, it becomes increasingly difficult for the other branches to police it. Once that ability is lost, democracy itself is threatened and we become a government of Riyale and not laws.

If the Somaliland people and the Somaliland congress not act now to save their country, who will save on their behalf.

Mohamed.O.Nur (Shacabi)
California, USA
E-mail: [email protected]