Somalia: President Hassan Sheikh Defends One-Person, One-Vote Elections, Rejects Indirect Voting

Somali President Hassan Sheikh speaking at the inauguration of renovated road in Mogadishu - March 28, 2026

MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud strongly defended the implementation of one-person, one-vote elections, insisting the country has moved beyond the long-standing system of indirect voting.

Addressing the nation, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said numerous previous agreements clearly outline the electoral process, the formation of committees, and the rules to guide the country. Still, some politicians have reneged on commitments they previously signed.

“If you hear calls for an indirect election, they come from people trying to impose their personal interests. What stands in the way is the public interest,” the president said.

He highlighted more than 20 signed agreements governing direct elections, the electoral framework, and committee structures, stressing that returning to indirect voting is not feasible.

The president criticized politicians who prefer systems centered on individuals rather than established institutions and legal frameworks, saying the country’s future cannot be determined by “the will of one person or a small group.”

He emphasized that lawmakers represent the people and cannot be chosen according to the wishes of select politicians, insisting that citizens must have the opportunity to cast their votes. “Indirect elections are a thing of the past; they are finished,” he said, urging Somalis to trust their institutions and government.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also stated that all funding for the one-person, one-vote elections came from domestic resources, noting that “not a single foreign shilling” was used to support the process.

Concluding his remarks, the president called for continued progress in Somalia, emphasizing that the country cannot remain stagnant at the point it reached after the collapse of the central government in 1991.

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