DEMOCRACY IN SOMALILAND

That this House congratulates the people of Somaliland as they celebrate their 20th anniversary as a self-declared autonomous republic; pays tribute to their impressive and unwavering commitment to the democratic process; applauds the demonstration of that commitment in 2010 when the outgoing President Rayale accepted the result of the election and facilitated a peaceful transfer of power to incoming President Silanyo; notes that a similar level of wisdom and maturity had been demonstrated by Mohamed Silanyo when he was the runner-up in the Presidential election in 2003; welcomes the UK Government's commitment to reward these democratic achievements through increasing existing development aid and help in sustaining democratic institutions in Somaliland; and believes that Somaliland has both earned and deserves a higher level of support and encouragement from the international community as a result of its impressive 20 year record of democratic development, acting asa beacon of peace and stability within one of the world's more turbulent regional environments.