Somaliland: Gabiley Adorn Dogs with Waddani Party Colours

Upon his election as ruling party flag-bearer in Somaliland elections slated for March 2017 Kulmiye Chairman Muse Abdi Behi thanked his clansmen for facilitating the nomination.

Still basking in the triumph that culminated with a near break of the party that saw stalwarts in the administration led by Hirsi Haji Ali former powerful Presidency minister resign their ministerial posts en-masse, allegedly after being forced to support the Behi candidacy, the Kulmiye party boss announced intent to campaign-visit in Burao town of Toghdeer region.

In the midst of this Behi glory Trumpeting, in jumps, gullibly?, Wadani the main Somaliland opposition party and ruling Kulmiye arch rivals with designs on opening its regional branch office for Gabile.

On the appointed day 1st December a team of senior Wadani party officials led by its national Secretary General Mohamed Abdilahi Ura’ade and including Foreign Affairs advisor Fatuma Saeed, Shadow Foreign affairs secretary Hussein Fod’ade, Maroodi-jeeh (Hargeisa) branch chairman Saeed Bustale and MPs Saeed Elmi Roble and Aden Ruush among others.

According to some analysts the visit to Gabile the stronghold of Musa Behi and his Kulmiye party and coming on the heels of his triumph was political artlessness on the part of the opposition party for a welcoming committee composed of less than fifty protesters at the outskirts of Gabile was at hand shouting anti-Wadani Slogans.

Though the delegation managed to bulldoze its way through to its offices in the town where its supporters were at hand to fulfill objectives of the visit the pro Kulmiye protesters had gone a step further as they clothed four stray dogs with the Wadani party colours.

Another perceived folly in the Wadani plan to open a branch office was in its choice of leader and though Ura’ade is clansmen of Musa Behi thus presumably with clout the uncouth reception was a poignant pointer to the absence of Boobe Yusuf Duale the Wadani Shadow information secretary and a very very popular son of Gabile.

While inducing people regardless of numbers to protest against one thing or another is a campaign tool the absence of women demonstrators as in the case of Gabile anti-Wadani one is ample proof that calculated machinations was at play.

For Wadani the dogs draped in its flag was maybe a jolt to the fact that the nomination of Musa Behi as Kulmiye party fronted candidate for Somaliland president warrants restructuring its leadership ranks more so among clansmen of Behi thus replace Ura’ade with Boobe who maintains a large support base in Gabile region regardless of the Kulmiye party line-up.

On the other hand a second school of thought opinionates that the Gabile reception was a carefully implemented strategic move by Wadani that desired publicizing the unruly reception as a prelude to inciting the same among supporters in its strongholds in the East of the country during the proposed Behi/Kulmiye campaign visit.

So was it politically naiveté that drove Wadani party to Gabile at this particular time when Musa Behi and his supporters are satiated with glory or was it strategic thinking to mar the Kulmiye leader’s visit in Toghdeer region?

Meanwhile covert campaigns continue though planned presidential and parliamentary are fourteen months away which is contrary to the Somaliland election laws

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Source: SomalilandSun