Rhino: Agencies – Somalia’s government spokesman said the cabinet on Thursday approved a draft law that would return the country’s electoral system to universal suffrage for the first time in decades, ending the indirect voting process.
The bill must be ratified by parliament to become law.
With widespread insecurity caused by an Islamist insurgency and weak state institutions, lawmakers in the past few years have voted to elect the president, while clan chiefs and elders have elected legislators in both the federal and state governments.
The country was initially scheduled to move to a direct voting system in 2020, but the government was forced to keep the indirect voting system in place due to prolonged disagreements between politicians and insecurity in the country.
Government spokesman Farhan Jamali said in a statement: “The election rules are leading to the implementation of the one-vote system across the country.

“This will give citizens the right to vote and elect for the first time in 55 years, it is a historic day.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected by lawmakers in May 2022 for a five-year term, announced the policy last year.
Implementation faces significant logistical and security challenges due to a lack of infrastructure and the control of large swathes of the country by the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.