Saturday November 16, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia's bicameral parliament on Saturday unanimously approved a law establishing an independent electoral and boundaries commission, a crucial step toward introducing one-person, one-vote elections in the country.
In a joint session in Mogadishu, 173 members of parliament voted in favor of the law, with no opposition or abstentions.
Speaker of the House of the People, Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madoobe, urged the recently formed parliamentary committee on election preparation to accelerate the drafting of related laws.
Parliament's recess was postponed following a request from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who emphasized the urgency of preparing Somalia for universal suffrage to transition away from the clan-based electoral model.
Earlier this month, the interim parliamentary committee responsible for drafting electoral laws elected former Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled as chairman and Senator Iftin Hassan Iman Baasto as deputy chairman. The committee's mandate includes drafting regulations for elections and political organizations and establishing the electoral commission.
Despite progress, the committee's formation has sparked criticism. MP Abdirahman Abdi Shakur called the move unconstitutional, arguing it undermines Somalia's transitional government framework.
The approval of the independent electoral and Boundaries Commission law marks a pivotal moment in Somalia's efforts to strengthen democratic governance. However, political disputes and constitutional concerns pose potential hurdles to implementing universal elections successfully.