Sunday March 9, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reiterated that the country’s ongoing indirect elections have severely undermined Somalia’s international credibility.
Speaking to the public on Saturday, President Hassan Sheikh emphasized the need to transition to one-person, one-vote elections to give the Somali people a genuine opportunity to choose their leadership.
President Hassan noted that the continued use of indirect elections was unsustainable, stating that Somalia cannot revert to this system again. He stressed that the international community is unwilling to engage with a government which results from an unpredictable election process.
“We have been in indirect elections for 25 years. We cannot continue; it is impossible, and we are not accepted. The world does not accept us to be a government and treat us like this. They are telling us we do not know what they are working on,” said President Hassan Sheikh.
The president further confirmed the government’s commitment to implementing one-person, one-vote elections, which he argued would improve the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
The Somali Electoral Commission has set election dates for June 2025 for local, regional, and municipal polls, with parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for September 2025.
However, some regional states, including Jubbaland and Puntland, and opposition groups, have rejected this election model. They have accused the president and his government of unilaterally controlling the election process.