Below is my Democracy Chronicles’ interview with Somaliland Member of Parliament Abdirahman Mohamed Jama also known as simply Awxoog. As a member of the House of Representatives he was directly elected in 2005. He is also the Vice Chair of the Social Affairs committee as a leading member of the opposition Waddani Party, a party founded by Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi who also serves as its chairman. MP Jama has written for Democracy Chronicles from his home in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, since 2014. His Democracy Chronicles articles can be found here.

In this interview, MP Jama discusses the history of Somaliland, the prospects for a better local democracy, and the American election campaign as seen from Somaliland including what he sees as the danger of the inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric of Donald Trump. It was my pleasure to speak to MP Jama in New York City during his recent visit to the United States where he was meeting with members of the Somali-American community across the country.

I would like to thank Marlon Krieger Photography for its help filming the interview and Nicole Futoran for editing the video.