Halima Ismail Ibrahim, chair of the National Independent Electoral Commission said the country’s clan-based power-sharing model was a temporary measure to support preparations towards one-person, one-vote.
She described 2020 as “a pivotal year” for Somalis, who have been denied the right to political participation for five decades.
“The process was compromised by extensive vote-buying. There was a lot of corruption in that process, limited participation of women in the two houses, and complete exclusion of marginalized and minority groups,” she said.
She said that it also will mark a milestone for the international community, which has worked to promote democracy and good governance in her country.
“However, this is a milestone which can only be realized when the Somali leaders and the international community show a commitment to one-person, one-vote election to take place in 2020-21”, Ms. Ibrahim stated.
According to Ms. Ibrahim, the electoral commission chair, the forthcoming election is expected to cost $53 million,
Parliamentary and presidential elections took place in late 2016 and early 2017 through a system of indirect suffrage.
Somalia last held one-person, one-vote elections in March 1969. That October, the government was overthrown in a bloodless military coup.
