Historic direct elections begin in Somalia’s Galmudug region

Somalia’s direct “one person - one vote” elections began on Thursday in the central Galmudug state, marking a significant step in the country’s gradual transition towards broader democratic elections.

Polling opened across 11 districts in Galmudug, where registered voters cast ballots to elect members of the regional house of representatives and local councils, according to the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The commission’s chairperson, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, formally launched the voting process in the regional capital, Dhuusamareeb.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting polling stations ahead of the vote, he said the election was proceeding smoothly and that voters had queued in large numbers to cast their ballots.

Separately, Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Salah Ahmed Jama, visited polling stations in Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region, to observe the voting process.

Peaceful voting

Jama said the voting had been conducted peacefully and praised residents for participating in what he described as an important democratic process.

“I visited polling stations in Galkayo this morning to observe the Galmudug elections, the first direct vote to be held there in nearly a century,” Jama said. “It is a historic day that reflects the will of the people and Somalia’s progress towards democratic governance.”

Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said he had cast his vote in Galkayo for the first time in his life in elections for the Galmudug regional parliament and local councils.

Fiqi said 65,950 voters had registered in Galkayo district and its surrounding settlements as part of what he said were hundreds of thousands of registered voters across Galmudug.

He described the poll as a historic day, saying it demonstrated that “the will of the people cannot be hijacked by a small group” and marked a new chapter for the regional state after overcoming difficult periods.

Political maturity

He also said the conduct of the vote reflected growing political maturity among Galmudug’s political organisations and residents, and praised the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for organising and managing the election process.

Government officials also thanked voters for what they described as an orderly and peaceful polling process and commended the work of election officials and security forces in supporting the conduct of the vote.

Somalia has been working to expand direct elections after decades in which political representatives were largely selected through an indirect, clan-based system.

The Galmudug vote is part of wider efforts by the federal government to introduce universal suffrage across the country, although the process continues to face political and security challenges.