Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) President Dr. Kizza Besigye is in Somaliland capital, Hargeisa as part of the Somaliland Election Monitoring Mission (SEMM) team, to monitor the Parliamentary and local government elections.
Somaliland, which has operated as an independent republic since declaration of independence from war torn Somalia in 1991, has held regular and fairly democratic elections.
There are 82 Parliamentary seats in Parliament contested by three political parties and 522 local council seats.
Officially the Republic of Somaliland is a self-declared sovereign state in the Horn of Africa but internationally, it is considered to be part of Somalia.
The Somaliland government has never been formally recognized as a state despite a record of peace, stability and democracy. It also maintains relations with other governments.
