Somalia's upcoming elections will cost $40 million, says FM

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Federal Government of Somalia announced the budget for the country’s forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections amid a dispute that delayed the voting schedule.

Somalia’s Finance Minister Abdirahman Dualle Beileh has said during a TV interview Friday evening that the next election will cost $40 million, in which 90% of the budget will be offset by international donors.

He said the Somali government will only pay 10% of the budget that shows the country still depended on foreign aid and unbale to cover its election expenses due to the corruption on inland tax revenues.

Beileh's remarks come amid an ongoing political crisis in the country which saw opposition candidates call for disbandment of the electoral commissions, arguing the list was full of members from the intelligence service and some civil servants.

Last week, the former immediate prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire said some foreign donors suspended providing financial assistance to the Federal Government of Somalia due to the current election dispute.

The Council of 14 presidential candidates, including former presidents and PM, have blamed President Farmajo for hijacking the electoral process, an obstacle to the country’s hard-earned progress.

Last September, leaders of the central government and the Federal States who held a meeting in Mogadishu agreed on an electoral model after the country failed to hold one person, one vote election in 2020-21.

They opted for the indirect election which the analysts say is full of corruption, blame games, and nepotism, and the Al-Shabaab terror group may have a say in it and access to pick MPs in the parliament.

The agreement was a positive step but big challenges remain, including and implementation within the given timeframes after a new deadlock emerged between Jubaland and Puntland on one side and FGS.

To unblock the impasse, the States and opposition call for appointing new neutral election commissions, withdrawal of government troops in the Gedo region, and dismissal of the powerful NISA boss Fahad Yasin.

As leaders fight each other and in deadlock over elections, the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants have dramatically stepped up their terror attacks, a sign of its ability to exploit political infighting in the capital.

GAROWE ONLINE