For democratization to take root in Somaliland, its citizens need to be empowered to understand their rights and responsibilities. In this paper, Abdi Ahmed describes how civic and voter education are vital to democracy and good governance and institutionalizing free and fair elections.
By Abdi Ahmed Nour (Gurey) FOPAG
What is Civic Education?
In order to ensure that elections in Somaliland are free, fair, transparent, and peaceful, the public needs to be prepared through civic and voter education. This will ensure the majority of the people can participate in elections as citizens who are well-informed about the electoral system and the prevailing circumstances and challenges in the country.
The term ‘civic’ means the people, citizens, and community at large. Civic education is a broader concept that involves conveying knowledge of the country’s political system and context to the public. This might include information on the system of government; the nature and powers of the offices to be filled in an election; the principal economic, social and political issues facing the country; democratic values; the equal rights of women and men; and the importance of peace and national reconciliation.
Voter education is a component of civic education. It aims to motivate people to fully participate in elections, by informing them about their political rights and responsibilities within a democracy, including casting one’s vote.
In the post-conflict situation of Somaliland, civic and voter education are especially important because the system of government and electoral processes are new and unfamiliar to many voters.
Through civic and voter education people learn about:
- The roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political parties, interest groups, and mass media.
- The importance of citizen participation in all aspects of a democratic society.
- The necessary conditions for democratic, free, and fair elections.
The people of Somaliland are enthusiastic about democratizing all aspects of their life and civic and voter education links voting to broader democratization issues and gives democracy a chance to take root. Civic education provides non-partisan information to people interested in improving their civic knowledge and skills and helps citizens to understand the relationships between themselves and their government.
One of the goals of civic education is to inform and empower citizens to make informed choices on issues that affect them in their day-to-day lives, be they social, economic, or political. The importance of civic education develops in parallel with freedom in political expression and participation. A greater understanding of the political system and awareness of the purpose of elections increases public participation and decreases the likelihood of invalid ballots.
Civic education takes several forms, including:
- Legal Rights Education, which focuses on citizen knowledge of legal rights so that he or she can enforce them or guard against their violation.
- Human Rights Education, which focuses on individual human rights, the core values and rights that define a human being and that must be guaranteed to preserve a person’s human dignity and allow the individual to develop and progress in his or her political, economic and socio-cultural endeavors.
- Voter Education, which educates citizens on electoral laws and processes, and enables them to effectively exercise their right to vote.
- Democracy and Governance Education, which focuses on various aspects of democratization and governance.
- Citizenship Education, which is concerned with informing people about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
- Political Education, which aims to increase political literacy and understanding of the fundamentals of the political processes.
Since the democratization process began in Somaliland, some uncoordinated civic and voter education activities were carried out by different organizations in the urban centers, but no comprehensive civic and voter education plans and programs have been implemented. The challenges facing civic education in Somaliland include:
- A lack of coordination among organizations carrying out civic education
- Lack of cooperation among the stakeholders
- Clan sentiments
- Corruption and mismanagement
- Insufficient public knowledge about civic education
- Poor conceptualization and planning
- Limited funding
- A short timeframe for delivering education
- Inadequate coordination among implementing initiatives
- Maintaining a capable electoral management body that is credible, impartial, and neutral.
The challenges can be addressed by:
- Establishing a plan for awareness raising
- The provision of sufficient funds.
- Training as many staff as possible.
- Ensuring cooperation among stakeholders, especially NGOs.
- Improving management skills.
- Creating mobile teams of educators.
- Make effective use of the media.
- Use respected people in the community.
- Prepare civic education material preparations.
A comprehensive civic and voter education program should start early, prior to the election, and continue through the election process covering all the constituencies in the country. The media has a vital role to play in disseminating civic and voter education. The international community for its part can also make a constructive contribution to civic and voter education and encourage full participation.
About the author
Abdi Ahmed Nour is a Training Officer for The Forum for Peace and Governance (FOPAG), a member of the Somaliland Independent Scholars Group (ISG), and a Board Member of the Academy for Peace and Development (APD). He was formerly a Lecturer on World History in Somali National University (1987-1990), a member of the Somaliland House of Elders (1993-1997), a Civic education trainer for the Life and Peace Institute (1998-2001), and a lecturer in Conflict Resolution at the University Of Hargeysa (2002-2007).
