The National Independent Electoral Commission Chairperson Ms. Halima Ismail Ibrahim addressed to the Security Council on 21 November 2019. The Chair Person said, Since Somalia formally became an independent state in 1960, universal suffrage elections were only conducted in 1964 and 1969. Because no elections were held in the past 50 years, the majority of the current Somali population has never exercised their universal rights to political participation she added.
Chairperson emphasized that the clan power-sharing was a model initially designed as a temporary measure to support the transitional Government of Somalia to prepare the country for one person one vote election.
Ms. Halima said i want to remind the distinguished members of the Council that 2020 is a pivotal year for Somalia’s citizens whose rights to political participation have been denied for 50 years and also it will be a milestone for the international community who have been investing heavily in Somalia for several decades to introduce and promote democracy and good governance.
At the end, NIEC Chair requested the Somali leaders to treat the election (one person one vote) 2020/2021 as a constitutional obligation, and a national priority and provide the necessary political and financial support for NIEC to execute its mission of conducting one person one vote election in 2020. This includes the passing of the electoral law by December 2019 and allocating the required funding for the election operation.
Ms. Halima also appealed to international partners to make available the necessary funding for election operation activities, which is estimated to be 53 Million Dollars.