By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 16 October 2026 The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has announced the election schedule for members of both houses of parliament and for the president, raising the question of how a federal election can take place when no votes will be cast in Somaliland, Puntland or Jubaland.
The answer, the commission says, lies in three pillars: the law, the technical setup and the politics.
First, the law. The amended and completed constitution approved in 2026 is the strongest pillar the government is relying on. It provides for one-person one-vote elections, a multiparty system and the establishment of an electoral commission. It also sets a five-year term of office.
For the government, the legal path is open. The opposition, however, rejects the constitution itself, and that is where the dispute begins.
Second, the technical side. The commission is not starting from scratch. One-person-one-vote elections have already been held in Banadir, South West, Galmudug and Hirshabelle. More than 660,000 people voted at more than 870 polling centres set up by the commission, and more than 30 political associations competed.
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The commission has now said it will reopen voter and political association registration, which could push those numbers higher.
The key to the whole process is that the entire country becomes a single electoral constituency, and parties are required to base their candidate lists for both houses on the 4.5 clan power-sharing formula.
Under this system, voters choose parties, not individuals. Votes cast anywhere in the country are added together, and each party wins a share of seats in proportion to the votes it receives.
As a result, the election can be held in the areas that have already voted, while seats for the whole country are filled.
Third, the politics, and this is the hardest part. A strong opposition is based in Mogadishu and made up mostly of figures who once held senior government posts. The federal member states of Jubaland and Puntland are not part of the process either. Together, these leave open the question of how much acceptance the election can win.