Home News in English Is Somalia Ready For A One-Person-One-Vote In 2020?

Is Somalia Ready For A One-Person-One-Vote In 2020?

Somalia is currently recovering from over 3 decades of instability. The Federal government of Somalia currently sits in Mogadishu at Villa Somalia that is guarded by the Somalia National Army and AMISOM troops.

The National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC), the official independent electoral body in Somalia which has its headquarters in Mogadishu and led by Chairperson Ms. Halima Ismael, is currently gearing up for the Juballand elections and the national election scheduled for 2020. There has been a rise of assassinations of NIEC officials and delegates nominating MPs and Senators across Somalia by Al-Shabaab. According to the local media, some of the delegates fled the country to seek asylum in neighboring countries. The commission has also been conducting by-elections for positions that have been vacated by legislators due to various reasons.

The commission did an exceptional job in conducting the 2017 national elections, that got the current president and his administration elected, but could not manage to stop mass corruption encompassing the selection of delegates to the presidential elections. While the commission struggles with a myriad of challenges including lack of funding, limited capacity and lack of support from all relevant stakeholders, they are still mandated to deliver free and fair elections across Somalia.

The 2020 election will be different from the last one because of the changing political scene. There is mass registration of political parties and currently, there are 35 political parties that are officially registered by the electoral commission. This election belongs to all of us (Somalis). Everyone here holds a stake in turning our vision for universal (adult) suffrage in 2020 into a reality,” Ms. Halima told participants at a 4-day workshop organised by African Union Commission in Addis Ababa

The most disturbing part of the current (s)election system is that the candidates can bribe their way into the Somalia federal parliament by paying hefty amounts to get (s)elected. How do you expect someone who paid close to $500k to secure a parliamentary seat to put the interest of the public first before his interest let alone the interests of his clan and supporters who bankrolled him to get the seat? It is simply a pure business transaction and the winner takes it all. That leaves the Somalia citizens with no option but just to vent their concerns on social media.

Challenges in conducting the 2020 elections, include the fact that the commission doesn’t have the capacity, countrywide presence, and proper experience to conduct one-person-one-vote in 2020 in Somalia. The timeline is too short to prepare for a countrywide election based on one-person-one-vote. The commission has less than 2 years to prepare. Somali citizens do not also have the proper identification and electoral cards to take part in the exercise

The other glaring challenge is the reality that the Somalia Federal Government doesn’t control much of Somalia and hence NIEC cannot conduct the exercise without interferences by local administrations or violence by Al-Shabaab.

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