I am looking forward to 14 April, in common with most people living in Somaliland. It will be the first time ever that I vote in my homeland. Having missed the December municipal elections, the prospect of taking part in a free and fair election to choose the next president of Somaliland will not only be a new experience, but given what it has taken us to get here, a deeply rewarding one. The people whose job it is to ensure that the elections fulfil our expectations are the six men and one woman who make up the National Electoral Commission (NEC). Their task is not an enviable one, given the unique circumstances of Somaliland.

Mali – a poor, landlocked country in West Africa – became the seventh Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) to reach ‘Completion Point’ under the World Bank and IMF’s enhanced HIPC initiative on March 7. Mali had already received some debt cancellation under HIPC. Mali is the first country for almost a year to receive any write-off of debt under the HIPC initiative, which campaigners have criticised for failing to keep to the schedules promised to the international Jubilee 2000 campaign.