The outcome was initially rejected by the main opposition, which led to violence and a subsequent ban on public protests for a ten-day period starting on 22 April.

[4] Having come into existence in 1991, in the early 2000s the unrecognised Republic of Somaliland began to transition from a state-run, tribal government to a democratic nation.

The SEC had been established in December 2001 through a series of Electoral Laws composed of 66 articles, setting the rules, regulations, and expected conduct for democratic elections moving forward.

Authorities in Puntland, another autonomous region of Somalia that disputes some territorial boundaries with Somaliland, threatened the election.

Though reports of double voting and ballot stuffing were present and there were problems due to an undereducated and mostly illiterate voting population, international observers from Denmark, Sweden, Kenya, South Africa and Britain confirmed that the elections were well conducted and successful, noting the high turnout of female voters and the organization of the electoral officials.

[5] Sool (where many polling stations closed for security concerns) was the only one of the six regions in Somaliland where UDUB did not win a plurality of the vote.

[5] UDUB's success can be attributed to its incumbency, superior financial resources and its advantageous clan ties.

[6] The SEC improved and increased training for staff and party agents and cross-assigned election officers to ensure electoral officials were not presiding over their own communities where they could be influenced by their clans.

The SEC organized acting groups that traveled around with loudspeakers mounted on cars informing people about the upcoming elections and voting procedures.

On election day polling stations had posters with written and illustrative information about the candidates and voter protocol.

The majority of the people of Somaliland have developed a sense of identity distinct from the rest of Somalis based on their different clans ties and their different colonial History.

UDUB, despite its incumbency and stability, was painted by Kulmiye as holdovers from the former Barre Government in Somalia—a military regime that ruled Somalia for 20 years till the rise of the SNM in the late 1980s.

[12][5][6][7] Although the problems from the district elections like illiteracy, ballot stuffing, and double voting were still present, more controls were put in place.

[13] The Observers gave favorable reports but noted some variation in the management of different polling stations and a lack of voter age restriction enforcement.

The most major electoral issue occurred in the Sool region where a conflict caused the death of an election official.

Small protests erupted in areas that were Kulmiye strongholds and the government invoked emergency laws.

The box had been mishandled after a security incident involving UDUB supporters attempting to tamper with the vote.

The Supreme Court refused to open the box and announced on May 11 that Kahin had won by a margin of 214 rather than 80 votes.

Kulmiye claimed the court was incompetent, a common complaint about the Somaliland Judiciary, and lacked impartiality.