Sunday August 17, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) – Somalia’s Independent National Electoral
and Boundaries Commission announced on Sunday that voter registration for the
upcoming one-person-one-vote elections in Banadir region has been officially
completed.
Commission Chairman Abdikarin Ahmed Hassan confirmed that
nearly one million Mogadishu residents have registered to vote in the historic
election, which will allow citizens to directly elect the local council and the
mayor of Mogadishu for the first time.
“On October 30, 2025, the people of Mogadishu will vote for
the local council and the mayor. We are very happy that nearly one million
people have registered with us. Their names will be published on the 27th of
this month,” Abdikarin said.
The chairman added that voter registration is also underway
in other cities, stretching from Las Anod to Hudur, and is expected to conclude
in the coming weeks.
The Federal Government has pledged to deliver a nationwide
one-person-one-vote system, a goal it has pursued despite resistance from
opposition groups and the administrations of Jubbaland and Puntland, who argue
that conditions are not yet conducive for such an election.
Federal President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and opposition
leaders have held several rounds of talks in Mogadishu in recent weeks in an
effort to resolve the political deadlock over the election process.