MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) 鈥� Residents of Somalia鈥檚 capital are set to vote Thursday in a controversial local election that marks the country鈥檚 first-ever one-person, one-vote poll since 1969. Analysts say it is a major departure from clan-based power-sharing negotiations.
The election of local council members, to be conducted across Mogadishu鈥檚 16 districts, has been organized by the Somali federal government but rejected by opposition parties, which have called the election flawed and one-sided.
Somalia has for decades selected its local council members and parliamentarians through clan-based negotiations, and it is the leaders who later elect a president. Since 2016, different administrations have promised to reintroduce one-person, one-vote elections, but insecurity and internal disputes between the government and the opposition have delayed their implementation.
This will be the first major voting exercise overseen by Somalia’s , with up to 20 political parties fielding candidates.
The election will not determine the mayor of Mogadishu, who also serves as the governor of the Banadir region. That position remains appointed, as the constitutional status of the capital is unresolved and requires a national consensus 鈥� a prospect that has grown increasingly distant as political rifts deepen between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the leaders of the states of and Puntland over constitutional reforms.
The central region has more than 900,000 voters registered across 523 polling stations, according to the electoral commission.
Somalia has faced security challenges, with the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group often carrying out deadly attacks in the capital.
Security has intensified ahead of the local elections.
Analysts say the Mogadishu vote represents the most concrete attempt yet to move Somalia away from its longstanding clan-based, power-sharing system.
鈥淢ogadishu has demonstrated that local elections are technically feasible,鈥� said Mohamed Husein Gaas, founding director of the Raad Peace Research Institute.
By moving ahead with the vote, Gaas said the federal government was empowering citizens, strengthening accountability and moving towards a more inclusive and legitimate state.
He said plans to expand direct elections to federal member states and eventually to the national level reflect a phased approach aimed at balancing security, political inclusion and development.
鈥淭he process signals a commitment to building a durable Somali state grounded in democracy, public trust, national cohesion and long-term stability,鈥� Gaas said.
A first-time voter, Farhiyo Mohamed, expressed her excitement, saying, 鈥淭his is something I have never seen before, since I was born: such an election happening before my own eyes and to take part in a universal election like this.鈥�
Opposition parties, however, argue that abandoning negotiated, clan-based arrangements without agreement risks undermining Somalia鈥檚 fragile federal settlement.
The elections, which were postponed three times this year, have drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accuse the government of using the process to entrench power and pave the way for extending the president鈥檚 term, which is due to end in 2026 鈥� an allegation authorities deny.
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