Somalia’s cabinet has approved a bill that could reintroduce universal suffrage for the first time in 55 years, ending the country’s current indirect voting system. If the bill is passed by the Somali parliament and signed into law by the president, it would make President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the last leader elected through the indirect voting process in the 2026 polls. The country last held direct elections in 1967. Under its indirect voting system, presidents are elected by lawmakers, who are themselves selected by clan heads and elders. This system became necessary due to the nation’s insecurity problems as well as its unstable state frameworks. Somalia had planned to transition to direct voting in 2020; however, political disagreements and persistent insecurity delayed the shift.
SOURCE: ARISE TV
Somalia to Abandon Indirect Voting System for Popular Elections
