Somalia’s foreign minister calls voter registration a historic break from clan-based elections

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Tuesday April 15, 2025

Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi speaks during a press conference

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia launched its first one-person, one-vote voter registration in more than five decades on Tuesday, beginning in Mogadishu’s Shangani district, which government officials are calling a historic step toward democratic reform.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi praised the development as a “historic achievement,” marking the country’s shift away from clan-based, indirect elections toward universal suffrage.

“After 55 years, to witness our citizens registering to vote is a historic victory,” Fiqi said during a visit to the registration center in Shangani. “The people of Shangani have shown the readiness of Somalis for public elections.”

The registration process is part of Somalia’s effort to implement direct elections across all Federal Member States, an ambitious reform aimed at strengthening democratic institutions and moving beyond decades of elite-driven politics.

Fiqi urged citizens nationwide to take part in the registration drive, emphasizing the importance of voter participation in shaping the country’s leadership.

“I urge all Somali citizens to register,” he said. “If you don’t register, you will miss the opportunity to choose leaders who can represent your interests.”

The minister also signalled the end of foreign-guided indirect electoral models that have dominated Somalia’s political process since the collapse of the central government in 1991. He called on the opposition to engage in the upcoming electoral process.

“This country will only conduct one person, one vote elections,” Fiqi said. “We’ve moved past the era when foreign-led initiatives controlled our electoral process. To the opposition, I say clearly: no other election format will take place.”

The announcement comes amid continued resistance from some political factions, including leaders from the Jubbaland and Puntland regional administrations and segments of the opposition, who have questioned the timing, security, and fairness of the process.

Nonetheless, the launch of voter registration represents a significant milestone for Somalia, which has faced prolonged political instability, conflict, and foreign interference. The move is widely viewed as a test of the federal government’s ability to deliver on long-promised electoral reforms.

If fully implemented, the one-person, one-vote model would mark Somalia’s first direct elections since 1969—prior to the military coup that ushered in decades of authoritarian rule and, eventually, state collapse.

Government officials say the voter registration process will expand to other districts and regions in the coming weeks.

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