Somalia Election Brief – Making Elections Relevant

Authors: Nisar Majid, Khalif Abdirahman and Guhad Adan

The catalyst for this brief is the widespread concern around the integrity of elections in Somalia, a recurring feature of the country’s political predicament. Each election cycle follows a similar pattern with (false) promises made around aims to improve the next elections followed by wrangling and delays and little or no progress made on the actual conduct and integrity of the elections.

The conditions in which elections are conducted are just one example of the wider disconnect between the rhetoric of implementation and reforms and the underlying reality of power and agendas of the political elite in the country. Furthermore, this reflects a continued inability of the ‘international community’ to reconcile its support for the Somalia government at its national and sub-national levels. This brief speaks to issues raised by Andrew Ellis, an electoral specialist, concerning the interplay of political and technical dimensions of elections, drawing on the PA-X Peace Agreements Database.

The brief brings attention to the nature of Somalia’s political settlement and elite bargain as this provides a useful starting point and reality check on the wider political culture which has evolved over the last ten plus years as part of Somalia’s internationally supported federal government. We conclude with some suggestions to consider in improving election processes.