Senior Somali officials have expressed optimism that the country will hold peaceful and credible elections in 2020/2021 despite the political and socio-economic challenges facing the country.
The officials, who attended a four-day conference organized by the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), urged all government agencies involved in the preparations to work together to achieve universal adult suffrage.
“I request parliamentarians in this workshop to advocate for ‘one-person-one-vote’ within the senate and the house of the parliament to expedite the passing of the electoral law,” Halima Ismail Ibrahim, chairperson of National Independent Electoral Commission of Somalia (NIEC), said in a statement issued on Saturday after the conference.
The electoral body launched a five-year roadmap in 2018 to help guide the management and administration of the country’s ‘one-person, one-vote’ elections in 2020-2021.
The roadmap, developed with the support of the UN mission, will provide guidelines for all the activities to be undertaken by the NIEC and will be subject to periodic review.
During the conference on electoral security and dispute resolution, Ibrahim said electoral law is critical in guiding preparations, implementation, and management of future elections, urging the parliament to pass the law urgently.
Civil society groups have been pushing for the enactment of the electoral law, saying it will help enhance the participation of citizens in the country’s decision-making process.
AMISOM senior political officer Hajji Ssebirumbi said Somalia is on the right track to achieve secure, free and fair elections.
“We are all aware that Somalia has not had this type of elections for the last 50 years, so the essence of planning, coordination and having a strategy in place is what we are working on at the moment,” Ssebirumbi said.
The workshop also discussed electoral disputes that may arise, using previous exercises, mainly the 2012 and the 2016 elections, as examples.
Yusuf Ali Mohamed, director general at Somalia’s Ministry of Internal Security, said the ministry will do everything within its power to ensure there are enough officers to secure all electoral areas.
