MOGADISHU: Somalia national leaders under the auspices of the National Consultative Council have resolved to hold unified state and local government elections in what will see the mandates of Federal Member State leaders lapse on a common period.
The Council which concluded long-running talks this evening said in a communique that municipal elections will be held in June 2025 while FMS parliamentary and presidential elections will take place in September of the same year.
The leaders also agreed to hold the elections under a one-person-one-vote formula through political party systems.
The agreement marks a major milestone in the contentious talks which were suspended early this month and resumed last week. Puntland and Jubaland did not participate in the talks. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud however said on Tuesday that talks were underway to resolve differences between the Federal Government the two Federal Member States.
The Elections Act 2020 envisages the holding of elections under the one-person-one-vote system on a first-past-the-post (winner takes all) option.
Of significant note is the unified election dates for Federal Member State elections. Under the current system, each FMS holds elections based on its own calendar with different term periods. For example, the Presidential term in South West state is four years while that of parliament is five years. In Puntland, the term of both the president and parliament is five years.
The election timelines for the FMS stood out as one of the contentious issues during the talks which saw Jubaland pull out early this month. In 2022, Jubaland, Galmudug and South States presidents extended their terms limits by between one and two years.
Going by today’s NCC deal, all FMS presidents will have their terms capped at August 2025.
The NCC also agreed to fast track the recomposition of the National Elections and Boundaries Commission to enable it conduct the upcoming elections.
Presidential elections will take place in early 2026 when the term of the current president lapses.
_____________________________________________________________________________________Xafiiska Wararka Qaranimo Online | Mogadishu, Somalia
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