Somalia not ready Universal suffrage polls in 2021

Photo/Somali Times




By Abdifatah Hared

Recent universal suffrage election law in Somalia is a positive move to democracy, but the country needs much more achieving unity, peace, and stability It’s been 50 years since Somalia last conducted a ‘one-person-one-vote’ election. The last universal vote in Somalia was held in 1969. Following two decades of civil war, and armed conflicts Somalia was unable to allow its citizens to vote for national elections. The last three parliamentary and presidential elections were held in accordance with the so-called ‘clan-based.

Political formula’ where lawmakers were chosen by 14,000 delegates from clan elders and community leaders. The elected lawmakers choose the president and the president to choose the prime minister. But in 2020/2021 elections Somalia ayes to allow ordinary Somalis to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time in half-centuries. The president of Somalia signed in February 2020.

The critical election law that will allow Somalis to vote directly for parties with parliamentary seats being allocating according to the final tallies. Under this new system members of the parliament will elect the president and the prime minister comes from the majority party in the parliament. Though, more than 40 political parties already registered under this new electoral.



Law. Some Federal member states and political parties object this election bill signed by the President, they consider it’s against the international standard of one-person-one-vote elections and thus promotes legislation of clannism. Therefore, much needs to be done if Somalia wants to conduct universal suffrage polls including, security, inclusive electoral law, voter registration, and completion of the draft constitution. Unfortunately, these activities were not done successfully and are in short supply.

Real universal suffrage requires unity, peaceful environment, accountability and transparency, equal access to voting and equal freedom to vote; and this can only be achieved if the government of Somalia creates an environment where all people from all ages can equally vote peacefully, conduct the population census and recapture all the regions of the country that are currently under Al-Shabaab militants and build the trust between all actors involved in the elections including, federal member states and the political parties.

The ongoing dispute between the central government and the federal member states, constantly tested by terrorist attacks, no clarity who is eligible to vote, no proper identification, lack of law in district boundaries and how residents in the capital Mogadishu will be represented and the lack of a fully codified and implemented constitutions, which together makes impossible the pathway to universal suffrage.



The question of Somaliland in the constitution and the ungoverned space is yet another obstacle to the one-person-one-vote election. Thus, the central government didn’t put any basic necessary in place that will guarantee free and fair elections in 2020/2021. Even though, the recent statement made by the president in his address of the two houses of the parliament (lower house and the Senate) stressed that his administration is ready in conducting one-person-one-vote elections. However, members of the parliament criticized.

The President’s speech especially the president not giving any details on how the polls would be conducted with the many challenges facing the country. In this context, it is clear that the one-person-one-vote election does not seem feasible, as the country lacks the depth and capacity to heal the lost trust among the people of Somalia.

What is needed is not just calling an emotionally one-person-one-vote election, but approving and ratifying the national constitution, adopting an inclusive electoral bill, solving the long-standing political tension between the federal government and the federal member states so to agree on how to scrap the clan-based system to universal suffrage election poll, Without cooperation between these institutions and other stakeholders a very little progress can be made towards peaceful elections.

Opinion article. By Abdifatah Abdi Hared

PhD candidate in Political Science, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University (AYBU), Ankara, Turkey