Baidoa (Somalia Today) – Voters in Somalia’s South West State cast ballots Sunday in regional and local elections that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hailed as a historic step towards universal suffrage.
Authorities held the vote across 13 districts in Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle, where residents chose members of the South West State House of Representatives and district councils.
The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to participate, including 164,716 men and 211,496 women. The commission said 4,781 registered voters were people with special needs.
Commission Chairman Abdikariin Ahmed Hassan formally declared voting open in Baidoa, the South West capital, calling it a milestone in Somalia’s transition from indirect political selection to direct public participation.
For the regional assembly, 394 candidates from 15 political organisations are contesting seats, including 322 men and 72 women.
For local councils, 1,297 candidates from 18 political organisations are running across the 13 districts, including 1,022 men and 275 women.
Election officials said the coordinated vote aims to strengthen democratic governance at regional and district levels, replacing earlier systems in which clan elders, political brokers and closed-door bargaining shaped the selection of representatives.
‘A new page’
In a national address, Mohamud said the South West vote opened “a new page and a new history” for Somalia. He described the election as proof that the country is moving towards one-person, one-vote elections after decades of indirect voting.
“Today is one of the great days in which Somalia is making history,” he said. “For the second time, Somali people have moved today towards one-person, one-vote elections and towards expressing their views on who they want to lead them.”
Somalia last held nationwide direct elections in 1969, months before Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a military coup.
Since the central government collapsed in 1991, indirect clan-based systems have largely shaped national politics, with delegates selecting lawmakers who then elect the president.
The South West vote follows municipal elections held in Mogadishu on December 25, 2025, which the federal government presented as the first major step towards restoring universal suffrage in the capital.
Mohamud said direct voting reflects the public will better than the old political model.
“One man standing alone somewhere does not represent the Somali interest,” he said. “The federal government has worked on this, and wants the rest of the country to complete it in the same way.”
Opposition boycott
The election, however, drew strong criticism from opposition groups.
The Somali Future Council, one of the country’s main opposition alliances, boycotted the polls. The coalition accused the federal government of manipulating the process and claimed authorities had already decided the results.
Federal and regional election officials rejected those allegations, presenting the vote as part of Somalia’s broader transition towards direct elections, political parties and accountable local governance.
The dispute reflects a deeper national rift over Somalia’s electoral framework, constitutional amendments and the future role of political parties.
Opposition leaders accuse Mohamud’s administration of pushing through major political changes without sufficient agreement.
The government, meanwhile, insists direct elections are necessary to move the country away from elite bargaining and repeated political deadlock.
The disagreement has grown sharper in recent months as Somalia prepares for a more party-based electoral model.
Supporters say the shift will strengthen institutions, but critics warn it could deepen instability if authorities impose it without consensus among key political actors.
Mohamud used his address to accuse opposition leaders of bad faith, questioning why they chose to hold a Mogadishu protest on the same day as the South West vote and a government invitation for preliminary political talks.
“Why was the protest timed for today, when an election is taking place in the country?” he said. “Why was it timed for today, when the Somali government had called for a preliminary dialogue meeting? There is no goodwill in that.”
He added, “The protest was intended to disrupt Somalia. The government understood that and allowed the protest to take place, but the Somali people also understood it from their side.”
For Mohamud, the South West vote shows that Somalia can begin moving beyond the indirect political arrangements that defined its post-conflict era.
