Regionally-based democratic governments in Somaliland, Puntland and south-central Somalia have begun to emerge at varying rates over the last few years. The current state of flux within the political situation has made a coordinated democratization effort necessary so as to strengthen existing structures, develop new structures where they do not exist and support governance initiatives throughout the region. This is one of the platforms for the Somali Democratization programme to build and consolidate peace in the region.

The seeds of democracy have already been sown in Somaliland, the self-declared autonomous state. Not only have they been succesfully nurtured to provide the people of Somaliland with reasonably stable and legitimate local government. On top of that, it represents a model for the other Somali regions and their own fledgling efforts to strive for. This has already been clearly demonstrated by the government of Puntland’s interest in building off of the Somaliland model. Democracy, effectively introduced and structured to meet the unique aspects of the Somali context, has a very important role to play in the successful development of the Somali region. A window of opportunity is now open to bolster democratic processes and understanding in the region.