Somalia’s controversial Federal Electoral Commission began voter registration on Monday in Shangaani district, Mogadishu, as part of a disputed process aimed at holding one-person, one-vote elections.
The Commission’s Chairperson, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan who is a former member of president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s political, described the launch as a significant step forward, noting that other districts will follow in the coming days.
“I am pleased to announce the official start of voter registration,” Abdikarim told reporters.
The registration site, located inside a government facility in Shangaani, saw long queues, mostly made up of civil servants, soldiers, and government officials, including some ministers.
Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, who serves as both the Minister of Women and Human Rights Development and a Member of Parliament, said she was pleased to be the first minister to register for the one-person, one-vote election, having done so in her home district of Shangaani, in the Banaadir region.
“This is a clear step forward, showing that our country is officially moving toward one-person, one-vote elections. History is being made, God willing. Somalia will succeed,” she wrote on Facebook.
Al-Makhzoumi, who actively campaigned in support of President Mohamud, is married to Abdikarin Guled, a close ally of the president and a member of his political party.
This move comes amid deepening political rifts in Somalia.
The voter registration process is part of a broader plan by the federal government which they claim to implement a controversial elections despite strongly opposed by political opposition groups and some federal member states who believe it as an attempt to extend president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term.
