Saturday April 18, 2026
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral Commission has announced election dates for House of Representatives and local council votes in Southwest, Galmudug and Hirshabelle.
In a statement issued Friday, the commission said elections in Southwest will be held on April 28, 2026, while Galmudug and Hirshabelle will vote on May 13, 2026. It said the contests in Galmudug and Hirshabelle would be held simultaneously, with voting for both the House of Representatives and local councils taking place on the same day in each state.
Officials described the schedule as part of a broader effort to align electoral procedures across multiple regional administrations and move toward a more standardized system.
Some opposition groups have already rejected the current approach to local elections, arguing that the process lacks broad political consensus. Their objections underscore the wider tensions that continue to surround Somalia’s electoral transition, where questions of legitimacy, power-sharing and implementation remain unresolved.
Those concerns could yet complicate the rollout of the new voting calendar, especially in a country where election plans have often been delayed or derailed by political disagreement.
