Somali opposition coalition submits direct election proposal to international partners

Saturday June 20, 2026

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali Future Council, an opposition coalition critical of the Federal Government of Somalia, has reportedly submitted an election proposal to international partners following talks with representatives from the European Union, United Nations, United States and United Kingdom.

The meeting focused on ways to resolve Somalia’s political impasse and reach agreement on an electoral process.

According to sources familiar with the proposal, the Somali Future Council accepted for the first time that Somalia should move toward direct elections in which voters choose members of Parliament.

The proposal calls for elections to be held in four districts in each federal member state. It says the process should be managed jointly by a federal-level electoral committee and a committee from the state where voting is taking place.

However, the opposition coalition proposed that the federal government’s political party system not be used in the election.

Instead, the plan calls for voting to be based on the 4.5 power-sharing formula, while maintaining the current allocation of clan-based parliamentary seats. Under the proposal, local voters would directly elect representatives for those seats.

The Somali Future Council also proposed that voting be held in a single day using paper ballots rather than an electronic voting system.

The coalition said elections in Hirshabelle and Galmudug should be held within three months, while the federal election should be completed within six months.

Representatives of the EU, U.N., U.S. and U.K. are expected to respond to the proposal after consultations with the Federal Government of Somalia.

The proposal suggests that the government and opposition may be moving in the same general direction on direct elections, though major disagreements remain over the voting model, party system, seat allocation and election management.

The federal government has been pushing for a one-person, one-vote electoral system based on political parties, while opposition groups have accused the administration of trying to control the process without sufficient consensus.