Somalia electoral commission sets 2026 voting dates for three federal states

Saturday April 18, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral Commission has set voting dates for House of Representatives and local council elections in Southwest, Galmudug and Hirshabelle.

In a statement released Friday, the commission said Southwest will go to the polls on April 28, 2026, while Galmudug and Hirshabelle are scheduled to vote on May 13, 2026. The body said the elections in those two federal member states will be conducted on the same day, with ballots for both the House of Representatives and local councils cast simultaneously in each state.

The commission also said local council elections in North Eastern State will be held on June 9, 2026.

According to officials, the timetable is intended to help synchronize electoral procedures across several regional administrations and advance a more uniform voting system.

But the plan is already facing resistance from some opposition groups, which say the local election process does not rest on sufficient political consensus. Their objections reflect the broader friction that has long shadowed Somalia’s electoral transition, where disputes over legitimacy, power-sharing and implementation have yet to be resolved.

Those disputes could still create obstacles for the new voting schedule, particularly in a country where election plans have frequently been postponed or disrupted by political deadlock.