Somalia’s cabinet approved a bill on Thursday to permit the implementation of a one-person, one-vote system for elections. This marks the first time in over fifty years that such a system will be used in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
The law’s purpose is to substitute a convoluted clan-based indirect voting system that has been used since 1969 when dictator Siad Barre took control.
“The national elections law will direct the country to hold one-person-one-vote elections,” Somali government spokesman Farhan Jimale said at a press briefing.
He added that the legislation “will give every Somali citizen the constitutional right to vote for a leader of their choice.”
However, before President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signs it into law, it must first gain approval from parliament.
In May 2023, Puntland held local polls through direct ballot, but in January, it opted out of using the same system for local and regional leadership elections.
Somalia is currently grappling with the aftermath of long-running conflict and disorder as it continues to combat a violent insurgency and frequent natural calamities.