{"id":12839,"date":"2025-12-26T09:26:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T09:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/somalias-capital-kicks-off-first-direct-elections-in-over-five-decades\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T09:26:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T09:26:48","slug":"somalias-capital-kicks-off-first-direct-elections-in-over-five-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/somalias-capital-kicks-off-first-direct-elections-in-over-five-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"Somalia’s capital kicks off first direct elections in over five decades"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Somali voter casts his vote at a polling station in Mogadishu, Somalia, Dec. 25, 2025. More than 500,000 voters in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026. (Photo by Hassan Bashi\/Xinhua)<\/span><\/p>\n

MOGADISHU, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — More than 500,000 voters in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026.<\/p>\n

Somalia’s National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) said some 1,604 candidates from 20 political parties are running for 390 posts in district councils in Mogadishu, in a vote viewed as crucial to dismantling the country’s long-standing clan-based political system.<\/p>\n

The vote marks the first direct election held in Mogadishu in decades. According to the electoral body, 523 polling stations across 16 districts opened at 6:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) and are due to close at 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), with results expected on Friday.<\/p>\n

“We are happy to announce that the local council election of the Banadir region officially started in designated polling stations early this morning peacefully,” NIEBC Chairman Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan said.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the vote, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the municipal elections are a milestone for the revival of the government and security of the capital, urging registered voters to exercise their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

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“This election is a powerful statement to Somalia’s recovery and the strengthening of the state institutions, and clear evidence that Mogadishu is secure and stable,” Mohamud said in a televised address.<\/p>\n

Authorities said extensive security measures were in place amid concerns over possible attacks by al-Shabab militants. Security was visibly tight across the capital, with a curfew imposed overnight to restrict traffic.<\/p>\n

Several opposition parties, however, announced a boycott of the vote, alleging electoral fraud.<\/p>\n

Voters in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the breakaway region of Somaliland are not participating in the elections.<\/p>\n

For many residents, the vote carried deep personal significance. “This is a historic opportunity that has never passed me by in my entire life. I am 52 years old, and I have never voted before,” Hassan Mohamed Hussein said after casting his vote in Mogadishu’s Karan district. ■<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Somali voter casts her vote at a polling station in Mogadishu, Somalia, Dec. 25, 2025. More than 500,000 voters in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026. (Photo by Hassan Bashi\/Xinhua)<\/p>\n

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A Somali voter casts his vote at a polling station in Mogadishu, Somalia, Dec. 25, 2025. More than 500,000 voters in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026. (Photo by Hassan Bashi\/Xinhua)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Somalia’s capital kicks off first direct elections in over five decades<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Somali voter casts his vote at a polling station in Mogadishu, Somalia, Dec. 25, 2025. More than 500,000 voters in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026. (Photo by Hassan…<\/p>\n

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