Somalia launches nationwide voter registration drive ahead of historic polls

Somalia launched a national voter registration campaign on Sunday in the capital Mogadishu, marking a major step ahead of local elections set for late June.

Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, chairperson of the national independent electoral and boundaries commission, announced during the launch that voter registration will begin on Tuesday, with citizens expected to report to registration centers that day.

This marks the first time in nearly five decades that Mogadishu residents will visit registration centers.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged in 2023 to move Somalia away from its clan-based indirect voting model.

One person, one vote

The cabinet has approved two bills to transition the Horn of Africa nation to one-person, one-vote presidential elections, scheduled for 2026.

Opposition leaders, including former presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, rejected the government's plan. They called the move unilateral and warned they could organize a parallel vote.

The last election in 2022 followed the 4.5 clan-based system, which allocated equal parliamentary shares to four major clans and a half-share to minority groups.

Somalia has not held direct elections since 1967.