Putting in place the building blocks to prepare for eventual elections is the immediate priority. The Commission has so far agreed on priorities for the remainder of the year and for 2016 and has approved an Action Plan for the next 15 months that will include the development of a budget to be submitted to Parliament and shared with international donor partners.

The NIEC has also stated a commitment to engaging with the authorities responsible to develop an electoral legal framework, including the electoral law, citizenship law and political party law. Technical issues such as assessing methodologies for voter registration, developing electoral dispute mechanisms and creating political party registration procedures have also been prioritized. The identification of a permanent location for the NIEC's new headquarters was considered important.

To date, although the Commission has been receiving most of its support from the Somali Federal Government, it is also being assisted by the EU, Italy, the UK, Norway, and Sweden. Meanwhile, UNSOM’s integrated UN electoral assistance team provides support and advisory guidance to the Federal Government of Somalia and the National Independent Electoral Commission on electoral processes and planning to help with national state-building.