We have completed our second public polling to gauge the approval rating of the President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi and his cabinet on various metrics including the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and droughts. Our previous poll from August 2018 contained similar questions and we will be comparing the results of those questions.
| Number of Participants | 1,735 |
| Poll Duration | 14 Days |
| Poll Method | Online |
In our first question in the poll about the President’s handling of his job, respondents gave a 38.9% approval rating and 61.1% disapproval. The disapproval rating of 69.1% is a sharp rise from the 2018 polling of the same question where the President received only a 29.1% disapproval of handling his job. President Bihi was in office for few months at the time of our first polling.
We ask respondents about their view of public corruption under President Bihi compared to his predecessor and 43.3% of respondents think there is less corruption under President Bihi while 21.9% see no change between President Bihi and Former President Ahmed Mohamoud Siilanyo’s government. 38.4% of respondents think corruption is higher. The majority or 65.4% of respondents to the same question in our 2018 poll saw less corruption under President Bihi.
Most respondents or 62.7% do not think President Bihi has been successful in keeping his campaign promises three years into his term where only 23.1% have voted favorably. In 2018, 55.1% of respondents thought it was too early to rate the President on his campaign promises.
On President Bihi’s cabinet appointments, most respondents have an unfavorable view compared to 27.8% who rated President Bihi’s cabinet appointments as outstanding and above average. A similar question in our 2018 poll 63% of respondents were unsatisfied with President Bihi’s choice of ministers.
Quest for recognition has always been one of Somaliland’s highest priorities and we have asked the public of their view and if the President has put an effective team to get Somaliland recognized and despite major diplomatic successes, 46.9% of respondents do not think the President has the right team in place to realize recognition during his term. This is an improvement of how respondents answered this same question in 2018.
On reelecting President Bihi if elections were held today, 69% of respondents voted No, compared to 31%. 54.3% of respondents to the same question in our poll in 2018 were favorable compared to 45.7% negative votes on reelecting President Bihi.
On priority issues where the government should put more effort in, most respondents voted for corruption, this is compared to national unity in our 2018 poll.
In a more general sense, respondents were asked about their view of how Somaliland has faired since electing President Bihi.
Somaliland is experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic with a sharp rise in infection and deaths. Currently, the Somaliland government has started the distribution of 65,000 doses of AstraZeneca received through COVAX. 77.2% of respondents do not think the government has an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of respondents do not believe President Bihi’s government has been effective in responding to droughts. Climate change has made drought in Somaliland and other parts of the world a constant factor.