By Shire Abdi - Reporter
MOGADISHU (Dawan Africa) – According to a proposal document reviewed by Dawan Africa, the Somali Future Council has presented the Transitional Direct Elections Model (TDEM) 2026 as a transitional electoral framework intended to bridge Somalia’s current political realities with the constitutional goal of one-person, one-vote elections.
According to the document, the proposal would, for the first time in Somalia’s modern electoral history, introduce direct citizen voting for members of the Federal Parliament and Federal Member State legislatures while retaining the 4.5 clan power-sharing formula during the transition. The document distinguishes the proposed direct elections from full one-person, one-vote elections, saying the latter remains Somalia’s constitutional end goal.
The proposal states that the transitional framework would be established through a negotiated political agreement between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somali Future Council under a Transitional Elections Implementation Framework (TEIF), which would govern both federal and state-level elections.
According to the document reviewed by Dawan Africa, no political parties would participate in elections conducted under the transitional model. Instead, the existing 4.5 power-sharing arrangement would remain in force, with recognised traditional elders continuing to allocate parliamentary seats among eligible sub-clans during the transition.
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The proposal also calls for elections to be administered through a two-tier structure consisting of a Federal Elections Implementation Committee (FEIC) and State Elections Implementation Committees (SEICs). It says membership of the FEIC would be shared equally between the Federal Government and the Somali Future Council, while SEIC members would be appointed by their respective Federal Member States. The terms of reference for both bodies would be agreed under the Transitional Elections Implementation Framework.
Another key feature of the proposal is same-day voter registration and voting. According to the document, eligible citizens would register at polling stations on election day before immediately casting their ballots, eliminating the need for advance voter registration.
The document says the proposed model aims to strengthen democratic participation by allowing citizens to directly elect their representatives, improve the legitimacy of elected lawmakers, build confidence among political stakeholders, reduce electoral disputes and create a gradual and irreversible pathway toward full one-person, one-vote elections.
According to the implementation timeline outlined in the proposal, political negotiations between the Federal Government and the Somali Future Council would conclude within two weeks, followed immediately by the adoption of the Transitional Elections Implementation Framework. Federal Member State elections would then be completed within three months, while federal parliamentary elections and the election of the president would be concluded within six months.