Somaliland Votes on Independent Status ControversialSome people of Somaliland in Somalia have holding different views on voting Thursday in a referendum on whether its independent status will be endorsed.Somaliland, a former British Protectorate, split from Somalia 10 years ago after the brutal civil war in the country. But its independence has never been recognized by the international community. The administration of the referendum includes all the loyalists of Mohamed Hajji Ibrahim Egal, the self-styled president of Somaliland. Mohamed Saed, one of the local businessmen, said Thursday that they could not call this a referendum, "because no one has ever seen the constitution which the people are now asked to vote for." The tribes of Dhulbahanteh and Issa have declared their total opposition to the referendum and the secessionism policy of Egal. The two tribes also warned the administration of Egal against any attempt to distribute the ballot boxes in the areas they dominate. During the past few weeks, the constitutional referendum has faced serious setbacks and criticisms from its immediate semi- autonomous neighboring region of Puntland and the new interim government of Somalia who both characterized the referendum as "a foreign plot aimed at disintegrating Somalia". Voting in Somaliland began Thursday morning. It was reported that the turn out has been high in Hargeisa and some other places. But there has been tension in the large town of Buro where the casting of the ballots still continued, but with very much uncertainty. |
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