Puntland elected a new president and vice president, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," and General Abdisamad Ali Shire respectively in a peaceful manner. The news on that faithful Thursday January 8th, was hopeful and promising to an otherwise bruised public confidence and withdrawal of trust. The change of leadership was perceived a long time coming and Puntlanders have been waiting for such an orange revolution for quite some time. In fact, that stark change is in the history books now.  Since Adde Musse has left a dismal legacy the lingering question that still remains is will Puntlanders be better off in four years down the road?

Puntland is facing, among other things, a host of issues:  regional and national. Cheif among them are piracy in the high seas, lack of internal security, corruption, dire economy, losing a large territory to the secessionist in the west, deforestations and incomplete shady deals that, for instance, give the state of Puntland a Rev. Share of less than 20 percent of its untapped  natural resources.

With the aforementioned problems at hand, Puntland faces a multitude of national problems that paralyzed the transitional federal government such as the political backlash and unrest that transpired after the Ethiopian occupation, the lack of cohesion within the opposition groups, the misery of the displaced masses from Mogadishu and many other issues will land on the plate of the newly elected leader.

What is more, some Puntlanders rightly make a legitimate argument that Dr. Farole and General Abdisamad are insiders and have been part of Puntland politics since its inception. Consequently, their election is said to be the epitome of “business as usual”. Another segment of the social fabric alleges that the president-elect mismanaged the Department of Finance while it was under his belt during Yusuf’s administration.

Clearly, had it not been the mechanics of the voting procedures and the resulting inequitable distribution of lsims (comprised of 66 clan-based legislatures who cast their votes), we would have seen a smoother electoral process. The composition of Puntland’s assembly is unfair and requires a comprehensive reform. Moreover, most political candidates were dominated by one group. My choice for the presidency was general Ilkajir whom I think was one of the most qualified candidates for the job, considering his military and civic credentials, plus his leadership would have cemented unity and collaboration with other fractious clans which are part and parcel of Puntland. In all fairness, many in Puntland including me believe that we should not put the cart before the horse and that the elected officials be treated to their own merits.  Judgement should be reserved against their accomplishments.

In addition, had the recent Puntland election produced a combination of a president from Sanaag and a vice president from Sool, Sanaag and Cayn(SSC) regions, it would have a greater significance. On one hand, it would have sent a strong signal to outsiders in particular to the secessionist; on the other hand, it would have made Puntland more cohesive and vibrant society which is the best scenario for building blocks of a democratic Somali nation.

For now, the election is over but our collective security and common interest are intertwined and thus intact, we must support our new leadership because we can overcome in unison the multifaceted challenges that lay ahead.

Ali M. Artan
Email: aliartan@gmail.com

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