Mogadishu (Halbeeg News) — Somalia’s bicameral parliament Monday unanimously approved key electoral laws including; rules governing elections, parties and political organizations and establishing the country’s electoral commission.
In a joint sitting, both the senate and the Lower House approved the rules and endorsed the 15 member committee tasked with leading the process.
Last month, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asked parliament to delay its recess by a month to expedite debate and passage of the election laws.
The laws were presented by Minister of Interior Ali Yusuf Ali Hoosh and received unanimous support from the 170 lawmakers present.
The second Deputy Speaker of the House of the People, Sadia Yassin Haji Samatar, announced that the laws were passed without any opposition or abstentions.
The bills are being amended in line with the agreements reached by the National Consultative Council late last month.
The NCC, chaired by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud among others proposed that the country adopts one-person-one-vote (OPOV) electoral system and that election timelines at the Federal Member State level be unified.
The committee’s leadership and new laws support the NCC’s election timetable, with local, regional, and municipal elections set for June 2025, followed by parliamentary and presidential elections in September.
The Ministry of Interior has urged Jubbaland and other States to adhere to the NCC agreements, underscoring the importance of a unified electoral process across Somalia.
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