Somalia’s government and federal member states jointly announced on Sunday their plans to introduce direct universal suffrage, marking a significant shift from the country’s long-standing clan-based political system. The move comes ahead of local elections scheduled for June 2024 and follows President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud‘s commitment in March to end the complex indirect voting system that had been in place since 1969.
In an agreement reached with state leaders, the government emphasized the importance of a one-person, one-vote system, stating, “The basic principles should be that the election of the Federal Somali Republic must be one that gives the public the opportunity to cast their votes democratically.” The reform aims to foster an independent, corruption-free multiparty political system.
Somalia, a nation grappling with decades of conflict, chaos, and numerous challenges, including a devastating drought causing widespread hunger, has not conducted nationwide one-person, one-vote elections since the reign of dictator Siad Barre. Instead, clan affiliations have played a dominant role in Somali politics, with key positions such as speaker, prime minister, and president allocated among the major clans. Lawmakers for the national parliament have been selected by state legislatures and clan delegates, who subsequently elect the president.
However, clan rivalries have fueled decades of strife and political disputes, which have been exploited by the Al-Shabaab militants linked to Al-Qaeda in recent years.
The recent local ballot in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, held on Thursday, marked Somalia’s first election by universal suffrage since 1969. Direct voting has also taken place in Puntland’s neighboring region of Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but remains unrecognized internationally. Although the regional electoral commission reported unspecified security incidents during the Puntland voting, the United Nations, the African Union, and several neighboring governments hailed it as a “historic” milestone.
These international partners expressed their belief that Puntland’s experience with direct elections has the potential to inspire the expansion of democracy throughout Somalia at all levels of government.
The agreement for nationwide universal suffrage was reached following four days of deliberations by the National Consultative Forum, which included President Mohamud, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, and leaders from federal member states. Notably, Puntland’s state president, Said Abdullahi Deni, did not attend the meeting due to the ongoing elections in the region.
The agreement also stipulates the implementation of a single presidential ticket, where voters will choose both a president and a vice-president, effectively eliminating the position of prime minister.
President Mohamud, who assumed office in May 2022 after a prolonged political crisis resulting from the failure to agree on a presidential selection mechanism, expressed his vision for universal suffrage in March, stating, “Politics is not about dominance; it is about the organization of ideas. Therefore, clan politics is not relevant to Somali national politics. I can see a bright future for this country.”
Mohamud is the first president of Somalia to secure a second term, having previously served from 2012 to 2017. He has vowed to tackle the country’s myriad challenges, including the violence perpetrated by Al-Shabaab jihadists, skyrocketing inflation, and a worsening drought that threatens to plunge millions into famine.
With the introduction of universal suffrage scheduled for June 2024, Somalia aims to embark on a new era of democratic governance, moving away from its historically clan-centric political landscape towards a more conventional democratic system.
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