Somalia's elections at security risk

There is a consensus among observers that voter suppression, corruption and possible fraud are vital issues ahead of Somalia's long-delayed elections.

The U.N. special envoy for Somalia reported significant progress in implementing an agreement between the federal government and regional states aimed at holding long-delayed national elections but said greater efforts are needed to ensure electoral security in light of the ongoing threat from the al-Shabab extremist group.

So far this year, al Shabab is still around and is still making its presence felt. The Somali terrorist group has proved to be extraordinarily resilient and fantastically adaptable, and it continues to undermine security across the country.

The U.N. political mission in Somalia has recorded reports of 321 civilians killed, mostly attributed to al-Shabab. There are also alarming increases in sexual violence and violations against children being recorded.

There had been growing pressure on Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo after scheduled elections on Feb. 8 failed to take place because of the lack of agreement on how the vote should be carried out.

Talks between the federal government and regional leaders that began in March broke down in early April. At the president’s request, the lower house of parliament then adopted a special law that extended the terms of current office holder for two years and abandoned a Sept. 17, 2020, agreement on indirect elections, reverting instead to a one-person, one-vote model.

Those decisions sparked widespread opposition, leading to the mobilization of militias, exposing divisions within Somali security forces, and resulting in violent clashes on April 25.

After the clashes, President Mohamed on May 1 asked the lower house of parliament to reverse its actions that included extending his mandate for two years.

Three decades of chaos, from warlords to al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab and the emergence of an Islamic State-linked group, have ripped apart the country that only in the past few years had been struggling to find its footing.