Somalia News
Somalia leaders agree on ‘one-person, one-vote elections’ as Madobe boycotts, Deni skips
MOGADISHU—Political leaders in Somalia agreed Wednesday on a framework for the country’s first national one-person, one-vote elections, a government statement said.
The decision followed a marathon, monthlong talks led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud that saw the withdrawal of Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, also known as Madobe, from the National Consultative Council meeting in Mogadishu.
Somalia’s government and federal member states said Wednesday that direct universal suffrage would be introduced with local elections set for June 2025.
The agreement—signed by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, the leaders of three regional states and Mogadishu’s governor—laid out a path to nationwide one-person, one-vote elections.
“The leaders agreed to introduce national elections, where citizens will vote for their leaders, starting with the local, regional and municipal elections set for June 2025,” read a communique released at the end of the meeting in Mogadishu.
“The election of parliamentary and presidential leaders of the Federal Member states will be held on September 2025,” the statement said.
The members of NCC also have ordered the completion of Somalia’s National Independent Electoral Commission to facilitate the electoral process.
President of Puntland Abdullahi Deni (left) and his Jubaland counterpart Ahmed Madobe
Opposition stand
In March, Somalia’s parliament unanimously approved a bill overhauling the country’s electoral system to reintroduce universal suffrage, a plan that has been criticized by some leading politicians.
The leaders of two federal member states, the Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni and Jubaland President Islam, opposed Wednesday’s decision.
Unlike Islam, who stepped out of the NCC meetings two weeks ago, Deni repeatedly said that Puntland no longer would recognize federal institutions, accusing President Mohamud of violating the constitution and losing his legitimacy.
Additionally, prominent Somali opposition leaders, including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, and MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, have vehemently condemned Wednesday’s decision, calling it illegal.
“The decision illegally extends the terms of the regional presidents, threatens the national stability, the efforts of building good governance,” according to a statement from the opposition. “We will never accept it.”
The country has not had nationwide one-person, one-vote elections since 1969, when dictator Siad Barre seized power.
Mohamud was elected by lawmakers in May 2022 and previously said the next national elections would be by universal suffrage.
Currently, voting follows a complex, indirect model where state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament, who in turn choose the president.
