In July 2015, the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somali Federal Parliament agreed that it would be impossible to hold a one-person-one-vote (1P1V) election in 2016, considering the limited time, security challenges, and the expectations of the public. Subsequently, in September 2015, Somali leaders came together and issued a joint statement where they agreed to open a national consultation process to determine the modalities for the 2016 electoral process. A national consultative process was held in some parts of the country and within the Somali diaspora in select countries in November and December 2015, following which modalities for the indirect electoral process were agreed on. In April 2016, the Federal Government submitted a comprehensive set of procedures for the 2016 Indirect Electoral Process to the Federal Parliament that was subsequently approved and signed by the President.
The National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) was established by Presidential decree number 4 of 2 April 2015. The Commission’s mandate was anchored in the February 2015 Law on the Establishment of the National Electoral Commission, which states that the Commission is responsible for managing all future elections over the course of an electoral cycle. The NIEC has nine commissioners, including two women, who were sworn in at the Federal Parliament of Somalia on 22 July 2015.
The legislative framework was complemented by the political agreement for the 2016 Indirect Electoral Process, which introduced other electoral bodies, including the Federal Electoral Indirect Team (FIET) at the Federal level and the State Electoral Indirect Team (SIET) at the State level. The Independent Electoral Dispute Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM) was also established to provide a dispute resolution mechanism.
I became involved in the 2016 Indirect Electoral process following former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke’s decision to nominate my name as a potential member of the FIET (Federal Electoral Indirect Team) representing civil society. Soon after, my nomination was confirmed, and I joined the FIET team in June 2016. I was subsequently elected to serve as the Deputy Chair.
Increasing women’s representation in parliament
During my tenure as Deputy Chair of FIEIT in the 2016 elections, I actively contributed to the achievement of the 25% women’s seats in both houses of parliament – up from 14% in the 2012 election. This was a milestone for Somalia considering the many challenges that women face while occupying such political spaces. Obstacles to women include various push backs from the clan system (as articulated by Anab Ahmed Isse, the first former Deputy Speaker of the Hirshabelle parliament). Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that this was a major leap for women in Somalia, leading toward a more inclusive society. Over time, women’s increased representation will also change social norms: young girls in Somalia will now visualize themselves in powerful positions such as representing their people as Members of Parliament.
Election Funds Management
It was crucial for me that the election funding and the resources were managed as transparently as possible. As Deputy, I established a financial management system which was enforced and was accountable to the Somali people and the international partners who had supported this process technically and financially. Hence, all funds received from the candidates’ fees, the government of Somalia and the international partners were transacted on a Dahabshiil account which had an incoming/deposit option only. The funds would then be transferred to the United Nations Multi-Partner Funds (UN-MPTF) and, alongside contributions from the international partners, would then be managed by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and disbursed to cover expenses such as salaries, transportation, accommodation and any other costs related towards the smooth running of the election.
On 7 February 2017, FIET completed the elections of the last two seats of the Upper House, and the 2016 indirect election came to an end. Consequently, on 8 February 2017, there was a peaceful transition of power in which Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was elected president.
Although the rules of the game were generally adhered to during the 2016 Indirect Electoral process, there were some cases where the agreed rules were broken. A case in point was regarding the 30% quota for women, where it was observed that some major clans declined to elect the agreed number of women. Even though FIET nullified the outcome of those elections, the winners, who were male candidates, were still certified as MPs by the 10th Parliament.
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