EU closes office in Somaliland amid political uncertainty

The European Union has closed down its office in Somaliland in what opposition parties say is their displeasure with the ruling party’s refusal to adhere to democratic ideals in the semi-autonomous self declared independent Somaliland.

But Somaliland officials played down the significance of the office and said they were not informed about the move but they suspect that the EU was unable to sustain the running costs of the office. “We would advice the office to stay open,” said the Mohamed Bihi the Foreign Affairs minister of Somaliland.

But Somaliland’s main opposition leader Abdirahman Irro suggests otherwise and said, “This office was opened in 1995 at a time when we had civil war in the country and the security was not good, today we have full security and yet EU decides to close their office. This is because the ruling party has refused to adhere the democratic norms and is trying to hold on to power beyond their mandate; this may be the beginning. We are likely to see other international offices to close down,” added Irro.

The opposition is at loggerheads with the administration of president Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo over the election date which has been delayed twice before.

The EU office was the main financier of  elections in Somaliland and has been supportive of Somaliland’s development agenda.

Goobjoog News