Somalia edges closer to first democratic election in half a century

The president of Somalia has signed a landmark federal law, paving the way for the country to hold its first popular election in half a century.  A long awaited “one person, one vote” election could be held by the end of the year. “It is such a historic time for Somalia, this bill will give Somali people the right to political participation, which they have been denied for 50 years,” said Halima Ismail, chair of the national independent electoral commission. The law is expected to replace the existing clan-based, power-sharing model, which gives the country’s main clans equal representation in government. Proposed system would still ensure clan representation in parliament, however, which has raised concerns about the potential for continued marginalisation of minorities and women. Analysts have questioned whether the country is ready for a popular election. “Although it is different this time, the clan element is still there,” said Ismail. “But parliament will put in place necessary measures to make sure women get their 30% seats reserved. “We are not there yet, but we have come a long way. There was a time when women had only 4% representation in parliament.” The last time Somalia had a universal suffrage election was in 1969. Following that were decades of dictatorship, civil war and relentless terrorist attacks. In a desperate attempt to stop the bloodshed and restore law and order, Somali leaders – with backing from the UN – agreed on a clan-based form of governance known as the “4.5 system”. Under this system, parliamentary seats and most government positions are divided equally among the four major clans, with the remainder allocated to a cluster of minority clans. This model, which was meant to be a temporary measure to mitigate clan conflict, has become a never-ending problem.