Somalia's bicameral House endorses new direct election law amid dispute

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia is on the path to holding the first universal suffrage elections in more than five decades, following the endorsement of a new electoral law by the parliament on Saturday amid accusations that President Hassan Sheikh, who is at loggerheads with several regional leaders is pushing for illegal term extension through unilateral constitutional changes.

The Elections Amendment Bill ends clan clan-based model of elections which has been in use since 2000. The old model is determined by traditional elders who pick the MPs to form a parliament that votes for a president without the involvement of the people.

The Election Act, which is one of three election-related laws set to be concluded before the end of the year, sets the framework for the conduct of elections of the president, federal member state leaders, and parliament.

In the model, Somalis will directly elect their president who will run jointly with the running mate. This effectively means the parliamentary system shall be eroded as the president would have immense powers to run the state and government.

It is not entirely true that Somalia has not conducted direct elections. The breakaway state Somaliland elected its president a few days ago through universal suffrage and Puntland has also held municipal elections through the same model.

Once implemented, the model will also be effected in federal states where regional leaders and their deputies shall be subjected to the people. Three political parties shall field candidates in the upcoming elections.

But the start could prove difficult after Jubaland protested against the model, arguing that it could give regional and federal leaders term extensions against the spirit of the constitution. Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe, the president of Jubaland, has gone ahead to conduct indirect elections.

Puntland on the other hand has also protested against the model, arguing that ample consultations were not done before proposals that were endorsed by the National Consultative Council (NCC). The two states accuse Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of maladministration.

GAROWE ONLINE