A constitutional referendum was held in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

on 20 June 1961 to vote on the new constitution for the country created the previous year by the union of the

State of Somaliland Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...

and the

Trust Territory of Somaliland The Trust Territory of Somaliland, officially the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration (), was a United Nations Trust Territory from 1950 to 1960, following the dissolution of the former British Military Administration. I ...

. It was approved by 91% of voters. In the territory of former State of Somaliland, the Somali National League (SNL) party encouraged a boycott of the referendum, and 60% of the approximately 100,000 votes from the area opposed the constitution. However the south of the country had 1,952,660 voters, effectively giving the south the power of veto, and obfuscated the fact there was no popular mandate for a union.

Conduct

More votes were cast in Wanlaweyn, a small town in southern Somalia, than in the entirety of

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

. This created a climate of distrust and a new term for southerners – Wanla Weyn.

Results

Aftermath

The Greater Somalia League, Somali National League and United Somali Party petitioned the High Court against the outcome. However, the constitution was ratified on 1 July, although the referendum results were only approved by the High Court on 4 July.

References

{{Somali elections

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Referendums in Somalia Constitutional referendums

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results