Somalia's one-person, one-vote national elections must be held: UN Security Council

UN Security Council has reiterated its expectation that one-person, one-vote national elections in Somalia must be held by late 2020 or early 2021, in accordance with the Provisional Federal Constitution of Somalia.

In a press release on Friday night, the members of the Security Council said they noted the progress made in the preparations for the holding of national elections in Somalia, and welcomed the role of the Federal Government of Somalia, the Somali Federal Parliament and the National Independent Election Commission (NIEC) in this regard.

The council added that the elections have to be "peaceful, transparent, timely, credible and inclusive, allowing as many citizens to vote as possible."

According to the release, the members of the Security Council welcomed the enactment of the Electoral Law but noted that essential issues need resolving.

They said the issues include the definition of constituencies; allocation of seats to constituencies; how the 30 percent quota of seats for women, to which Somalia has committed, will be implemented; and management of seats for Benadir and Somaliland.

In this regard, the members called on the Somali Federal Parliament, in collaboration with NIEC and in consultation with the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, and other stakeholders, to take urgent action to clarify these issues to enable implementation of the Electoral Law.

The members of the Security Council said that the coming weeks and months will be a crucial period for Somalia and noted that they would continue to keep the situation under review and follow the implementation of elections closely.