Somalia’s political parties lacked organizational discipline despite popular democratic enthusiasm.

Evidence

Despite the population’s enthusiasm for the unification of the two former colonies and the establishment of a democratic republic, all political parties from the North and the South lacked any sort of organizational discipline that could sustain structured civic politics. Without political party anchors in a country whose population was largely illiterate, a majority of senior political men plotted to prolong their tenure as well as enrich themselves through corrupt schemes. Members of parliament were strategically positioned to prolong their tenure because they elected the president, approved government policies, and sanctioned cabinets. Such a system was prone to instability as any number of disgruntled MPs could, and did, shake the confidence of the government after the referendum of 1961. These dynamics could have easily paralyzed the government if it were not for the commitment of the president and a significant number of MPs to the constitutional order that gave priority to the national interest over their personal fortunes. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 664