Mogadishu (AX) — Jubaland’s big cheese, Ahmed Madobe, has turned his thumbs down on Somalia’s federal scheme to roll out a straightforward one-person, one-vote setup. He’s concerned about election tardiness and the chance of officials sticking around longer than they should. During the ongoing National Consultative Council (NCC) huddle in Mogadishu, Madobe’s dissent poses a real spanner in the works for the country’s electoral makeover, stirring up doubts about timely implementation of the one-person, one-vote system.
“Back in May, Madobe and the rest of the cohort inked a deal at the NCC,” said one observer. But now his stance butts heads with those accords, which aimed to trade the clan-heavy power-sharing model for a more egalitarian proportional representation format. The blueprint envisages gelling three main political parties and setting up a hefty National Electoral Commission with 18 members, six picked by the federal powers. This fresh plan would snuff out the local electoral committees, seriously clipping the wings of regional bigwigs.
A sneaky insider remarked that Madobe is digging in his heels to grip onto Jubaland’s regional election committee reins.
He’s ruffled about the local elections, pegged for June 30, and the state elections on November 30. These dates were supposed to be markers for reform but now seem to be pie in the sky. He’s worried that charging ahead with the whole shebang under current conditions will only drag out the tenures of local and federal officials.
Federal honcho President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is hailing the one-person, one-vote framework as pivotal for beefing up Somalia’s democratic backbone. “Leaping from the clan-ridden 4.5 system to fairer representation is a must,” proclaimed a government mouthpiece. But with Madobe digging his heels in and Northeastern State giving the cold shoulder, questions hang heavy about Somalia pulling off its first true blue elections on schedule.
Madobe’s resistance lays bare the looming anxiety about Somalia meeting its strict election calendar. According to May’s outline, Somalia is expected to crack on with local elections by June 2024 and national ones by November 2024. Yet, with state elections in a jam and the National Electoral Commission still finding its feet, the odds of sticking to the timetable look increasingly scant.
The NCC chinwag, bogged down with crucial governance issues, has been further clouded by Northeastern State’s walkout. The final decision from these talks will be the linchpin in determining if Somalia can move forward with its electoral revamp and nail down its democratic evolution.
Edited by: Ali Musa
Axadle international–Monitoring
