Code of Conduct for Political Parties
Hargeisa 2005
PREAMBLE:
After
holding a series of meetings in which the upcoming parliamentary elections were
discussed; the three political parties of
Fully
aware of the importance of the parliamentary elections to the people of
Mindful
that successful completion of the democratic process will further advance the
cause of
Recognizing
that free and fair elections will enhance the prospect for enlarged freedom and
justice in
Cognizant
of the inherent risks and threats in transitional democracy and the prevailing
climate of mistrust among the parties;
Fully
aware of the urgent need to create an environment that is conducive to holding
free and fair elections;
Mindful
of the gaps/deficiencies in the electoral law that need to be addressed in
order to ensure smooth elections;
Have
agreed to abide by the letter and the spirit of this Code of Conduct which was
jointly developed by the National Electoral Commission and the three political
parties and which was signed by the parties and witnessed by the National
Electoral Commission on July 18, 2005
The
objective of this code of conduct is to promote conditions that are conducive
to free and fair elections including:-
a)
tolerance of democratic political activity;
b)
free political campaigning and open public debate; and
c)
respect for human rights.
1. Every Party and every candidate:
a)
is bound by this Code
b)
will take decisive steps to prohibit leaders, officials, candidates and
members from infringing the code.
c)
will take all reasonable steps to discourage any type of conduct by
their supporters which would, if undertaken by party official, candidate, or member
be in breach of this code.
d)
will not abuse the right to
complain about violation of the code, nor make false, or frivolous complaints.
e)
agrees to publicly condemn any action that undermines the free and fair
conduct of election.
f)
must accept the results of the election or challenge the results in the
Supreme Court.
2. The Leaders of the political parties
will issue directives to their parties’ officials, candidates, members and
supporters, requiring each one of them to –
a)
Observe this Code of Conduct.
b)
Take all necessary steps to ensure compliance.
3. Every candidate, once accepted by NEC,
must issue a letter signed by himself/herself in which he or she declares his
or her acceptance to comply with this code of conduct and to ensure that the
persons working in his or her candidacy will comply with this Code.
1. Every Political party has agreed to
adhere to the electoral laws, rules and regulations, and to take all necessary
steps to ensure –
a) That the party, its candidates, persons
who hold political office in the party, members, activitists, and supporters,
comply with the Code and the electoral law.
b) That representatives and supporters of
the party candidates comply with the Code and the Electoral law.
2. Every political party will take all
necessary steps to promote inclusion of women candidates in their respective
list of candidates for each region.
1.
Every political party will –
a)
respect the rights and freedom of all other parties to campaign, and to
disseminate their political ideas and principles without fear.
b)
respect the rights and freedom
of all other parties to lawfully erect banners, billboards, placards, and
posters.
c)
conduct itself in a manner that respects the rights of other parties,
and respects the rights of voters and other members of the community.
d)
respect the rights of the press, election monitors and observers.
e)
use its good offices to seek to ensure freedom of access by all parties
to potential voters.
2.
Every political party will ensure that it’s party
will not –
a.
engage, before, during and after election, in activities that may
jeopardize the peace and stability of the country.
b.
use language or defamatory act in a way that may provoke violence
during election.
c.
intimidate candidates and/or members of other parties, representatives
or supporters of other parties.
d.
disrupt, destroy or frustrate the campaign efforts of any other party.
e.
prevent the distribution of handbills and leaflets, and the display of
posters of other parties or candidates.
f.
deface or destroy the posters of other parties or candidates.
g.
prevent any other party from holding rallies, meetings, marches or
demonstrations.
h.
prevent any other party from canvassing support for the a party or
candidate.
i.
seek to prevent any person from attending the political rallies of
another party.
j.
permit it’s supporters to do anything prohibited by this code, or
k.
carry or display arms or weapons at a political meeting, in a march,
demonstration, rally or other public events.
Every party must: -
1. recognize the full authority of the
Commission in the conduct of the election.
2. cooperate with election officials in
order to ensure peaceful and orderly polling, and complete freedom for voters
to exercise their franchise without being subjected to any annoyance or
obstructions.
3. give effect to any lawful direction,
instruction or order of the Commission.
4. establish and maintain effective lines
of communication with the Commission and other political parties.
5. ensure the safety and security of
electoral officials before, during and after the polls.
6. not interfere unjustifiably or in bad faith with the duties
of the election officials.
7. respect and cooperate with officials or
accredited election observers or monitors.
8. maintain and aid, where possible, in maintaining
secrecy of the voting, and
9. not Procure votes by forcible
occupation of polling stations or through illegal activities in the polling
stations.
SEction TWO: Gaps/DEFECIENCIES in THE ELECTORAL Law
The following section of the Code of Conduct deals
with the gaps and deficiencies in the electoral law and the solutions devised
by the NEC and the political parties to remedy such deficiencies.
Article 12, paragraph 4
This
article does not address the remote but possible situation of having two or
more candidates in the same party list receiving the same number of votes and
there is only seat to be allocated. To address this deficiency in the electoral
law, the parties have agreed to the following sequential steps to break the
tie:
1.
The National Electoral Commission will, in the presence of the
concerned party’s regional executive committee, recheck the spoiled ballot
papers that were marked for the candidates who are tied for a seat to see if
there are any valid ballot papers that were inadvertently counted as spoiled
ballot papers. During the recheck, if valid ballot papers are found, they will
then be counted for the candidate that they were marked for. If, however, the recheck process does not produce a clear
winner, then
2.
The National Electoral Commission will openly conduct a drawing of
lots between or among the candidates to determine who wins the tie seat.
This will be done in front of the concerned party regional executive committee,
Election Monitoring Board, media, etc
Article 12 paragraphs 6,
& 7
These
two paragraphs need further elaboration which can only be provided when the
National electoral Commission undertakes the inspection of the polling stations
in late June and early July. Using the information gathered by NEC, the three
political parties and the National Electoral Commission will devise a joint
solution on the allocation of seats in these districts or regions. The agreed
upon solution appear on annex 1 of this code of conduct
This
article deals with candidates who were unsuccessful in winning seats in the
election and therefore remain as reserve candidates. However, this article does
not address the possible situation of two or more reserve candidates obtaining
the same number of votes.
To address this shortcoming, the parties have
agreed that the same mechanism for breaking a tie that is specified in Code of
Conduct for article 12 paragraph 4 (above) shall also apply to this situation.
Article 16 pargarph 1
The
electoral law mandates that the parties submit to the NEC a list of their
candidates’ 6o days before the voting day. The law however, does not mention
the possibility that a candidature could become vacant due to death or
incapacitation. To remedy this situation
the political parties have agreed to the following:
If, after the period established by the law to
present the candidates and before 14 days before the voting day, a candidate’s
position becomes vacant due to the above-mentioned reasons, then the parties
have the right to replace that candidate. However there shall be no change to
the ballot paper and the replacing candidate will use the name and the symbol
of the replaced candidate. When the final election results are announced, the
replacing candidates name will appear in all official election documents.
If, however, the position becomes vacant less than
14 days before the election date then the party can not replace the candidate.
However, if there are any votes for the vacant position then they will be
counted for the concerned party.
This
article grants the mayor the right to ban the holding of demonstration if he is
satisfied that they might damage the health, morals or public order. However,
if any action taken by a mayor is considered unreasonable, the article does not
specify the procedure for submitting complaints. To address this deficiency in
the electoral law, the three parties have agreed to the following:
That the mayors shall prepare and publish a
schedule of planned rallies and demonstrations for the three political parties
during the campaign period. Furthermore, the schedule shall allocate equal
number of days to the political parties for organizing rallies, demonstrations,
etc. Copies of the schedule must be sent to they NEC and to the parties at
least 15 days before the start of the campaign period.
The political parties shall inform the mayors 48
hours in advance of their intention to proceed with scheduled events (rally,
demonstration).
Any party that has been denied by a Mayor the
right to hold demonstration has the right to appeal to the National Electoral
Commission.
This
article does not address the issue of who can grant permission for the movement
of vehicles in the Election Day. To
address this deficiency the parties have agreed to the following:
The NEC is the only authorized body to grant
permission for the circulation of vehicles during the Election Day. In
accordance with the electoral law, the NEC will inform the public through the media
and through its regional and district offices the ban on movement of vehicles
during the voting day.
NEC will also make it publicly known that any
person who violates the ban will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
This
article does not address the central issue of when can parties substitute their
agents. The law clearly states that NEC shall train the political parties’
agents. This implies that only trained agents can be poll watchers. To address
this weakness the parties have agreed to the following:
Parties may, if a need arises, substitute their
agents provided that the substitutes are the reserve agents that were trained.
The parties further agree that the Party agents at
the polling stations cannot be candidates at the election
This
article does not specify the roles and responsibilities of the party agent,
which are crucial to the efficient and peaceful conduct of the election. To
address this, the parties have agreed to the following:
The NEC shall draft detailed terms of reference
for the party agents, which shall form annex
2 of this Code of Conduct.
This
article is very specific and restrictive in terms of the where the voter can
put his/her mark in the ballot paper. Given the fact that a large percentage of
the people are unable to read or write, the probability of disenfranchising a
lot of voters due to high rate of illiteracy cannot be ruled out. To avoid this
situation the parties have agreed to the following, which is in line with the
practice that was used in earlier elections.
The voter is allowed to put his/ her mark on the
ballot paper any where within the row that is designated for each candidate
Any mark be it a dot, cross, tick, sign, etc is
acceptable so long as it is clearly within the row.
If a voter’s mark spills over to an adjacent row
then neither of the two candidates gets the vote. However, the vote shall be
counted for the party of the candidates whose votes were counted as invalid.
.
If the Mark spills across two party columns, then
that vote is treated as being an invalid vote.
Paragraphs
3 & 4 of this article do not address the remote but possible situation of
party agents from two political parties who have been present at the polling
station and who deliberately refuse or disappear from the polling station before
the signature of the outcome of the vote.
To
remedy this, the parties have agreed on the following:
In
order to avoid the loss of votes cast by the citizens, the signature of only
one party agent and the signatures of the polling station officeholders shall
suffice. However, the reasons for such an event shall be recorded.
This
article requires that each presiding officer of the polling stations submit to
the Supreme Court a copy of the written record of the polling station results.
This is not logistically possible. Therefore, the parties have agreed to the
following:
The presiding officer will send the copy of the
written record of the polling station results intended for the Supreme Court to
the District Election Officer who will then forward it to the Regional Election
Officer for on-ward transmission to the Supreme Court.
Section
three: public funds/property/ government radio and media
Article
26 of the electoral law mandates the National Electoral Commission to ensure
that the political parties have equal access to the government owned mass media
and the use of the public assembly grounds during the election campaign. The article further states that no party may
use for its own purpose the property of the nation. Article 64 gives NEC the
power to impose administrative sanctions against anyone who commits acts that
are contrary to the administration (of the election) or to the electoral law or
procedures.
To
effectively execute this mandate, the Commission shall put in place the following
enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the electoral law and
procedures.
1. Use of Government Mass
Media
a). Radio Hargeisa Broadcast
During the Campaign Period
Implementation Mechanism:
Stage one: Daily Monitoring of Radio Hargeisa Somali language Broadcast
The
National Electoral Commission will monitor and record daily Radio Hargeisa
Somali language broadcast. The mechanism for monitoring Radio Hargeisa Somali
service broadcast is detailed in annex 3 of this Code.
The
National Electoral Commission will in consultation with the Ministry of
information allocate equal airtime to the three political parties in line with
the provisions of the airtime equal access schedule in annex 4
The
National Electoral Commission will make the following two arrangements in
respect of Maandeeq.
1.
Monitoring, on a daily basis, the content of Maandeeq and Horn Tribune news papers
2.
Allocation of equal space in Maandeeq and Horn Tribune to the parties
The
details of this arrangement are in annex 5 of this Code.
c) Privately owned Media
The
privately owned media shall also provide equal access of the media to the
political parties who are prepared to purchase space in the private newspaper.
No party shall be discriminated against in terms of this access. This provision
shall also be included in the media Code of Conduct and the Media Guide shall
clearly state the need for objective and balanced reporting on the part of the
media.
2. PUBLIC FUNDS/PROPERTY
The
electoral law (article 26) prohibits the use of public property by any party
for its own sole purpose. This article further states that no party may use
directly or indirectly property owned by foreigners, as such as that of foreign
NGOs and that of UN agencies. Furthermore,
article 64 of the electoral law grants the NEC the authority to take administrative sanctions. To
execute this authority, the National
Electoral Commission shall establish an Election Monitoring Board that will
ensure that the three parties have equal access to the Public funds, Government
owned mass media and Public Assembly Grounds. The Board members representing a
cross section of the society will be chosen on the basis of their moral
authority (distinguished religious figures), academic qualifications, work
experience, etc. The members will
include academicians, former senior public finance officers, civil society
members, etc. The terms of Reference for the Board of Monitors is in annex 3 of
this Code.
The
Board will perform its tasks under the overall direction and supervision of the
National Electoral Commission.
Pre-requisites:
In
order to enable the Board members to effectively carry out their
responsibilities, the following pre-requisites must be obtained.
It
shall be the responsibility of the National Electoral Commission to obtain from
the President the above-mentioned decrees.
In
order to ensure the effectiveness of the Board, NEC will grant the Board the
authority to investigate, on its behalf, any violation of the electoral law and
the Code of Conduct and if they deem it necessary to recommend to the
commission a course of action to be taken against the offender.
During
the election period, the government Ministers are not allowed to use government
vehicles for campaigning for the party that they belong to.
Civil
Servants are also not allowed, in accordance with the civil service law, to
publicly campaign for a party. Doing this will be considered as a serious
contravention of the election management process and NEC might initiate
appropriate disciplinary action against the culprit(s).
To
enhance the trust and confidence among the parties and to create a conducive
climate for the smooth and efficient conduct of the election, it is necessary
that the government refrains from any action that might be construed as an
abuse of power. Likewise, it is necessary that political parties refrain from
any action that may be construed as being detrimental to the peace and
stability.
Section
four: instruments for the enforcement of the code
1. Establishment of
Election Board of Monitors (EBM)
2. Regular Board meetings:
The objective of the meetings (preferably once in
a week) will be to evaluate compliance with the CODE and the Electoral law and
to lessen the inevitable polarization that a competitive campaign brings among
the contenders.
UCID KULMIYE UDUB
Failsal
Ali Warabe Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Ahmed Yussuf Yasin
Chairman Chairman Vice
President
Signature_________ Signature__________ Signature:_____
Date:
__________ Date:__________ Date:_________
Witnessed
By:
National Electoral
Commission
Ahmed Haji Ali Adami
Chairman
Signature:_________
Date____________