Elections in Somalia, where people don’t vote By Abdishakur Addai Sunday May 25, 2022 A former Somali president who lost the elections back in 2017 has been re-elected after defeating the ruling leader in a drawn-out election determined by legislators in a third round of voting on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the previous president of Somalia from 2012 to 2017, was elected president in Mogadishu, despite police imposing a tight lockdown to prevent deadly extremist assaults. After winning the election, Mohamud declared, “Victory belongs to the Somali people, and this is the beginning of an era of unity, democracy, and the fight against corruption.” Regaining control would be a “tough task,” he said.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected president after a difficult election marked by corruption, a president’s attempt to cling to power, and significant street violence. Mr. Mohamud defeated three dozen opponents in three rounds of voting, including President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was chastised for extending his term last year. The vote, which had been stalled for nearly two years, occurred amid rising costs and devastating drought and famine that has left about 40% of the country hungry.
Millions of Somalis are at risk of starvation, according to UN agencies, as the impact of a prolonged famine and drought continues to damage lives and livelihoods. Following the reign of ex-Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmaajo, the next leadership will inherit pending projects such as impending famine, debt relief programs at risk, a successionist enclave, the transfer of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) by 2024, and the restoration of a polarized society.
Al-Shabab threatened Mogadishu with regular attacks on hotels and other public places. Despite the lockout, explosions were reported near the airport region as legislators met to vote for the president. To prevent extreme violence from ruining the polls, Somali authorities imposed a lockdown on Mogadishu, the location of multiple attacks by the al-Shabab, beginning at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Due to frequent extremist violence, the goal of direct, one-person-one-vote elections in Somalia remains unattainable. Officials had planned a direct election during this election period, but the states and the federal government instead chose an “indirect election,” in which parliament members are chosen by community leaders — prominent clans representatives – in each member state.
Achievements of the former president
Secured debt relief
The secured debt relief for the country is one of Farmaajo’s greatest achievements for which he will be remembered. Somalia owes approximately $5 billion in external debts. This accounts for nearly all of the country’s GDP. For example, under House Resolution 1158, Somalia’s greatest creditor, the United States, promised to cancel Somalia’s debt.
Reforming Somalia’s armed forces
Previous governments prioritized the restructuring of the country’s military forces. Farmaajo, on the other hand, advanced quickly. Turkey trained and equipped more than 5000 units of Somali military forces and police commandos who operate as special forces in Somalia.
Economic positivity
Somalia’s economy is improving because of President Farmaajo’s administration’s efforts. Despite the Covid outbreak, the World Bank predicted that Somalia’s economy would increase by roughly 3.2 percent this year. This is the highest the country has been in years by 2020. The revenue of the country has been increasing since Farmaajo’s election.
Improvement of the nation’s public works
Former President Farmaajo’s administration worked hard to develop the country’s public works, completing several projects. Somalia’s most valuable resource is its people; everyone has a part to play in the country’s recovery. Somalis learned to be self-reliant through the Isxilqaan program, which promotes the idea that all citizens can create the country themselves.
Military success
During Farmaajo’s reign as president, Somalia was able to deploy troops, for the very first time in 30 years, and took over the southern border area of Gedo from the Kenyan troops. In response to the reports of corrupt officers who took money allocated to Somali soldiers, Fermaajo forced each soldier to go through biometric scans to cut out corruption. This was also to ascertain the number of soldiers on the government payroll. The biometric scans also enabled FGS to pay every office in time.
The failures and problems of the previous administration include:
Security failure and Al-Shabaab menace
The former government failed to contain insecurity in the country. All through his tenure in office, the former president Farmaajo, failed to contain insecurities in Somalia effectively, which led to the deaths of thousands. Al-Shabaab has always been at the center of all attacks in the country, which was also a challenge during his reign. Farmaajo promised to bolster the Somali National Army (SNA) to ensure an effective campaign against the extremist group Al- Shabaab when he assumed the position of the resident. This was supposed to be done by international corporations. Instead, the former president focused his efforts on creating internal splits within the army, which culminated in the April 2021 mutiny and the failed coup against Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble in December 2021. The resurgence of Al-Shabaab terrorists was facilitated by Somalia’s security personnel engaging in political politics. Terrorist attacks on security forces, innocent bystanders, and high government officials have persisted.
Governance failure and corruption
The previous administration promised to combat corruption, alleging that candidates paid millions of dollars to members of parliament to secure their votes after presidential elections. Despite this, the country continues to be plagued by corruption. Several Somali government officials were found guilty of defrauding the Covid epidemic assistance fund. Major graft instances, on the other hand, went unpunished. Instead of putting the country first, the former president decided to use unaccounted Qatar funding and government resources to bolster his political survival and fight legitimate political opponents. In states like Puntland and Juba-land, he launched internal warfare and even rigged elections in Galmagug, Southwest, and Hirshabelle.
What is expected from the incoming administration?
Continuation of debt relief program
Somalia is eligible for interim debt relief under the HIPC project in March 2020, putting the government on pace to lower its debt levels dramatically. Even with interim debt relief, Somalia will remain in debt difficulty, according to the International Monetary Fund’s debt sustainability study for 2020. The country expects the new president to keep this initiative continuing.
Establishing a viable a national currency
The Somali central bank has been dysfunctional since 1991. The old currency of the country has either vanished or worn out. Implementing the process for replacing old currency, as well as establishing what to do with the counterfeit money that has been in circulation for many years, will be one of the most difficult issues.
Increasing tax-to-GDP ratio
Floods, droughts, locust invasions, and the COVID–19 outbreak are among the shocks that impacted Somalia in 2019 and 2020. As a result of COVID–19 containment measures such as travel restrictions and supply and value chain interruptions, real GDP, which climbed by 2.9 percent in 2019, fell by 1.5 percent in 2020.
Security
Somalis also want the incoming president to implement much-needed security improvements. This is crucial in addressing the country’s deep-seated insecurity. Al-Shabaab, the militant group attempting to undermine Somalia’s government, has been subjected to intense military pressure from both national and international forces in recent years. This has made it difficult for the crime syndicate to plan and prepare for significant operations. However, postponed elections and political schisms have bolstered Al-Shabaab ability to launch sophisticated attacks. People are hoping that the new government would force Al-Shabaab out of the nation.
One-person, one-vote elections
Somalia has not held a one-person, one-vote election in the recent 50 years. Instead, state legislatures and clan representatives choose legislators for the national parliament, who then choose the president. The incoming president’s top priorities will be to evaluate the interim Constitution to draft a permanent one, establish a constitutional court, and implement one-man, one-vote elections. Replace the clan-based election system with the Farmaajo government’s oneperson, one-vote system.
What difficulties will the new administration face?
During his four-year term, Mr. Mohamud, 66, will face various problems, including the dominance of Al Shabab, a terrorist group that appears to rule the bulk of the country. For years, Somalia’s 16 million people have been afflicted by civil wars, bad management, and terrorism. The central government has been bolstered by African Union forces and Western assistance, including billions of dollars in humanitarian and security assistance from the United States, which has worked to prevent Somalia from becoming a terrorist haven. The next president will face the challenge of social dislocation and poverty. Somalia is one of the poorest countries in Africa and also the Arab world, not of a lack of assets or resources, but because of ongoing crises, wars, and natural disasters. A combination of COVID- 19 restrictions, floods and droughts, and locust invasions lowered output and raised poverty rates as well as dislocation in 2019 and 2020. After a 2.9 percent gain in 2019, the gross domestic product fell by 1.5 percent in 2020. Political unrest restricted international investment, while the global recession lowered remittances into the country. Seventy percent of Somalis live in poverty, with an average daily income of $1.90. In these conditions, I believe a determined effort to seek political compromises that can lead to much-needed societal harmony will be required.
In conclusion
The recent election result in Somalia is a transitional test and a paradigm shift in which the government must achieve a long-awaited milestone of developing and adopting a constitution, a strategy to defeat the al-Shabab terrorist group, reinforcing the governance system, political reconciliation, debt relief, and the topic of secession and Somaliland. The future administration will inherit a demoralized society beset by polarized politics and failures for the past five years, which will take remarkable perseverance, capacity, and resolve to overcome. After overcoming all of the aforementioned obstacles, Somalia will have a president who is also a national hero.
By Abdishakur A.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Hortabin Media’s point of view.