Egal says referendum planned for May

A referendum on the constitution of the self-declared state of Somaliland, northwest Somalia, is planned for May. Somaliland President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal told IRIN that he would like international observers to witness the referendum, which was "also a referendum on the separation of the country and the renewal of (Somaliland's former independent) status." Egal said the referendum would be "a very major undertaking" and was likely to cost about US $1 million. He said Somaliland lacked resources, but that international observers would be provided with transport and local accommodation. There has been considerable speculation in Somaliland about the date of the referendum and general elections, after a second deadline was passed in February by the present administration. "Once the referendum is over, and the constitution is approved then the rest is a matter of routine." General elections would then follow for local government, which would inaugurate the multi-party system, Egal said. The government will authorise the registration of political organisations before political parties are officially introduced. Egal told IRIN that Somaliland would "borrow from the Nigeria experience" in that any political organisation that won a minimum of 20 percent of the vote in at least four of the six regions in the country would qualify as a legitimate political party. "These will be the parties that will stand in the general elections for parliament towards the end of 2001. Then, in 2002 there will be the presidential elections", he said in an interview with IRIN in Hargeisa.