Somalia launches first voter registration in five decades

Somalia on Tuesday launched voter registration in the capital Mogadishu for the first time in over 50 years, a step towards universal suffrage ahead of presidential elections scheduled for 2026 in the volatile nation.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged last year to end the complex clan-based indirect voting system that had been in place since 1969, enacting legislation approved by parliament.

An AFP correspondent observed dozens of people queuing to register in Shangani, a district in Mogadishu, where registration started.

The east African country is due to hold local elections in June, using the one-person one-vote model, ahead of presidential polls that have been scheduled for 2026.

"Citizens in Mogadishu have begun registering to vote and collecting their voting cards, marking a significant stride towards universal suffrage," Information Minister Daud Aweis said on X.

Somalia's system of direct voting was abolished after dictator Siad Barre took power in 1969. Since his fall in 1991, the country's political system has revolved around a clan-based structure.

In 2023, the semi-autonomous state of Puntland held local polls by direct ballot, but rowed back on plans to use the system again for local and regional leadership elections early last year.

Direct voting has also been held in neighbouring Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but has never been recognised internationally.

Somalia is struggling to emerge from decades of conflict and chaos, battling a bloody Islamist insurgency and frequent natural disasters.