Wednesday August 13, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on
Monday registered at a voter registration center in Warta-Nabadda District,
calling on citizens to seize the opportunity to secure their constitutional
right to choose leaders in the country’s planned direct elections.
The president praised the National Electoral Commission for
its preparations, describing the shift to a one-person, one-vote system as a
“long-awaited national aspiration” enshrined in the provisional constitution.
He said the system would return to the people the power to elect leaders at the
federal, state, and district levels.
Mohamud also commended security forces, district
authorities, and local communities for facilitating the registration process.
Voter registration is under way in Mogadishu, Southwest
state, Galmudug, and the Hirshabelle region. However, Jubbaland, Puntland, and
several opposition groups are boycotting the process over constitutional
amendments and electoral changes.
Federal leaders and opposition representatives held multiple
meetings last week in an effort to break the deadlock over the elections, but
no agreement has yet been announced.