Sunday May 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday mounted a forceful defense of Somalia’s push for one-person, one-vote elections, arguing that the country’s indirect voting system has too often fueled violence, arrests and political uncertainty. Addressing the public in Mogadishu, Mohamud said Somalia needs to leave behind a model in which political representatives are chosen through clan-based, indirect arrangements. He said direct voting would allow citizens to select their leaders without…

Sunday May 10, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Southwest State opened a new chapter in its political history on Sunday as voters went to the polls for direct elections to choose members of the regional House of Representatives and district councils, a significant break from the country’s entrenched indirect voting system. The ballot was being conducted in 13 districts across Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to take part,…

Monday April 20, 2026 Jowhar (AX) — Hirshabelle State President Ali Abdullahi Hussein Guudlaawe has directed his cabinet to accelerate preparations for Somalia’s planned one-person-one-vote elections, pressing for wider public engagement even as political fault lines and security worries grow around the process. Guudlaawe urged officials to step up voter education campaigns and bolster administrative readiness ahead of the expected polls. He also called on residents of Hirshabelle to take part actively in the electoral…

Tuesday April 7, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission has set April 28 as the date for elections to the Southwest State House of Representatives and 11 district local councils, opening the way for the region to choose a president and lawmakers through a one-person, one-vote system within 45 days. Commission chairman Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan announced the schedule Monday in Baidoa, framing the ballot as a major milestone in widening public participation and strengthening…

Somalia has used an indirect election system, built around clan and delegate representation, for much of the past two decades. Under this approach, national leadership is chosen through layers of representation rather than direct ballots cast by the public. Somali lawmakers and political leaders are now debating a shift toward direct voting and "one person, one vote" universal suffrage. This explainer sets out the difference between Somalia's indirect system and direct voting, what the change would mean, and why the…

Somalia: Southwest State Accuses Federal Government of Waging “Direct War” MOGADISHU, Somalia — South West State officials accused the Federal Government of Somalia of effectively launching a “direct military war” against the regional authority, warning the standoff could ignite fresh nationwide conflict. In a blunt statement, the regional presidency said conditions had “significantly deteriorated,” alleging that federal leaders had recast the Somali National Army into a force acting on clan lines. “Local communities…

Iran and Israel long fought in the shadows — through intelligence operations, cyberattacks, covert sabotage and proxy warfare — calibrating pressure without crossing into direct war. That balance is faltering. The shadow conflict is tilting toward open confrontation, reshaping the Middle East’s security architecture and rippling through energy markets, shipping lanes and fragile regional politics from the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. For decades, Tehran relied on partners such as Hezbollah in…

Thursday, February 19, 2026 MOGADISHU — Oman’s low-cost carrier SalamAir will launch the first direct Muscat-to-Mogadishu flights on Sept. 3, 2026, establishing a new nonstop air link between the Gulf and the Horn of Africa via Aden Adde International Airport. The airline said it will operate two weekly services between Muscat International Airport and Mogadishu, positioning the route as an affordable short-haul option for travelers across the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Somali diaspora. One-way Lite fares will start…

Somalia calls for direct sea route with Türkiye as trade outgrows current logistics, minister says ISTANBUL — Somalia’s ports minister said Thursday that establishing direct maritime shipping routes with Türkiye has become a strategic necessity as trade between the two countries expands beyond the limits of existing logistics. “The current level of trade between Somalia and Türkiye has moved beyond the present logistics structure,” Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, minister of Ports and Maritime Transport, told Anadolu on the…

Somalia’s elections show the model isn’t the problem — integrity is For a decade, Somalia’s reform debate has framed elections as a technical puzzle: if indirect voting disappoints, move to direct elections; if elites pick delegates, expand to one-person, one-vote. The country’s recent experience — from the 2016/17 and 2021/22 indirect contests to Mogadishu’s December 2025 local elections — points to a harder truth. When rules are bent, institutions are captured and state resources are weaponized, neither indirect nor…