Somalia: Here’s What We Know
Despite already facing a slew of challenges, including rising tensions surrounding its relationship with Kenya, the February polls scheduled in Somalia might still be a possibility following a recent decision by two regions in the country.
Puntland And Jubaland Rejoin The Fold
Following weeks of back and forth, Puntland and the Jubaland States in Somalia have finally nominated members to the Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (IEIT).
The two have been withholding this since last year, delaying the Indirect Election Modality adopted on September 17, 2020, by the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, and leaders of the regional governments of Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Southwest, and Jubaland.
While the Federal Government and the other three member states announced the nomination of members into the electoral committees, Jubaland and Puntland refused to participate at first, citing several unresolved issues as the motive for their indecision at the time.
However, in a new joint statement on Wednesday, the two States said members of the international community led by James Swan, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, encouraged the National Consultative Forum -NCF (the Federal Government and the Federal Member States) to convene a meeting to resolve outstanding differences.
Each State has now nominated eight committee members.
Missed Parliamentary Elections
The parliamentary election originally scheduled for 2020 did not hold. As such both the parliamentary and the presidential election will take place this year, but only if a full agreement is reached on the implementation of the election process.
How Elections work in Somalia
While the country had initially planned for a direct, one-person-one-vote election, this idea remains elusive. Instead, the federal government and states agreed on the same “indirect election” it has always used with senators and members of parliament elected by community leaders — delegates of powerful clans — in each member state. Members of parliament and senators then elect the president of the country.
