The National Independent Electoral Commission has opened a four-day retreat in Mogadishu, attended by all members of the commission and staff based at the headquarters and regional commission offices – focusing on the commission’s work during the past 5 years and the challenges faced. The purpose is to review the performance of the NIEC from 2015 to 2020. ‘Look back’ at where the NIEC was and where it is today and assess what went well, what did not go well, what could have been done better and identify areas for improvement.
The Chairperson of the NIEC, Ms. Halima Ismail, who opened the meeting, spoke at length about the Commission’s performance and the challenges it has faced, noting that the Commission has done a good job of implementing its plans while huge challenges remained.
The Chairperson also spoke about the importance of the NIEC staff’s efforts in achieving its goals, and encouraged them to be more productive and urged the staff to redouble their efforts in delivering their responsibilities of serving their country.
Finally, Chairperson Halima expressed optimism that the 2021-2025 strategic plan being developed and will be fully implemented to ensure that the country has free and fair universal elections.
The meeting was also addressed by the Secretary General of the Commission, the Registrar of Political Parties, the heads of the regional offices of the Commission and the Directors of the six departments of the Commission.
The retreat is internally focused. It is a ‘looking back exercise’ for the purpose of identifying what needs be done to strengthen the capacity of the organisation to help it deliver on its mandate.
The meeting will conclude on Wednesday, January 27th 2021.