For the first time in decades, Somalia is abandoning its clan-based political system and allowing residents of Mogadishu to choose local representatives directly under the “one-person, one-vote” principle.
Over 10,000 security personnel have been deployed across the Somali capital of Mogadishu, with hundreds of thousands of voters expected at the polls for the country’s first direct election in many decades.
The local vote in the capital city marks the reintroduction of the “one-person, one-vote” principle for the entire African country.
“This is my first time to vote,” 65-year-old Addey Isak Abdi told the Reuters news agency. “I am very happy and I came here early in the morning, walking with other mothers,” she added.
The ballot “shows Somalia is standing on its feet and moving forward,” National Electoral Commission member Abib Hayir told Reuters. “After the local election, elections can and will take place in the entire country.”
Al-Shabab seen as threat to nationwide polls
Despite these claims, many are questioning the feasibility of nationwide election in the county that is still wrestling with Islamist insurgency. The powerful al-Shabab militia controls large parts of Somalian territory and has also staged deadly attacks in the capital. Due to security concerns, Somali officials closed the Mogadishu airport and blocked off streets for vehicle traffic on election day.
The last direct vote was held in 1969, before dictator Siad Barre took power. Barre’s fall in 1991 saw the country switch to a clan-based power sharing system, where clan representatives elect lawmakers who in turn choose the country’s president. Universal suffrage was only legally restored last year, and the Mogadishu vote has been delayed three times in 2025.
Now, the city of some 3 million people is set to choose its local representatives directly among over 1,600 candidates fielded by up to 20 political parties.
Election in Mogadishu ‘stage-managed’
Some opposition parties, however, have criticized the Mogadishu vote as a ploy to keep President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in power, decrying the process as flawed and one-sided.
“There is close to zero civilian participation. It’s mostly a government and security forces operation,” , security analyst Samira Gaid was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
She described the process as “stage-managed” to make the impoverished, war-torn nation “appear like a democracy.”
With the parliament’s mandate ending in May 2026 and President Mohamud’s first term expiring in April, the country’s political elite remains divided over direct elections. This summer, Mohamud made a deal with some opposition leaders that parliamentary deputies would be chosen directly, but the president would still be decided in parliament, which his rivals see as the president trying to shore up his own reelection prospects.
Some Somali states have threatened to run their own election process if no consensus is reached.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
DW News
