Somaliland democracy said threatened

HARGEISA, Somalia, July 13 (UPI) -- The nascent democracy in the East African territory of Somaliland is under threat by its government's disregard for the law, Human Rights Watch says.

The international group, in a report released Monday in Hargeisa, alleges that the administration of President Dahir Riyale Kahin has committed human rights violations and has generated a dangerous electoral crisis.

"Somaliland has spent 18 years trying to build stability and democracy, but all its gains are at risk if the government continues to undermine the rule of law," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The electoral crisis has laid bare the need to create functioning government institutions that will respect human rights."

HRW noted that Riyale has twice delayed elections that were originally scheduled for April 2008 citing processes of "questionable legality," and that a further delay of elections, now slated for September, could "prove disastrous for democratic rule" in Somaliland.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has yet to recognized as an independent country by any international organization.