Voting Underway in 21 Districts Across Hirshabelle, Galmudug States

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Voting is underway in 21 districts across Somalia’s Hirshabelle and Galmudug states, with voters casting ballots to elect members of state assemblies and local councils in a direct election.

National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) Chairman Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan said polling had opened smoothly in 10 districts in Hirshabelle and 11 districts in Galmudug.

Voters began arriving at polling centres early Wednesday, with long queues reported in several locations as residents waited to cast their ballots. Security personnel and election officials have been deployed around polling centres to oversee the process and maintain order.

In Hirshabelle, voters are choosing members of the state’s House of Representatives and local councils, while residents in the participating Galmudug districts are also voting for representatives of their communities.

For many voters, the polls offer an opportunity to directly choose representatives who will take part in local governance and decisions affecting their communities.

The elections form part of Somalia’s wider shift towards a one-person, one-vote system, moving away from the indirect electoral arrangements used in previous polls.

The electoral commission has urged voters to participate peacefully and said measures have been put in place to ensure polling proceeds in an orderly manner.

The Galmudug election is a repeat of the July 30 poll after the Supreme Court annulled its results over administrative irregularities. The Hirshabelle vote, meanwhile, is part of the expansion of direct elections across Somalia’s federal member states.

The simultaneous polls represent another stage in Somalia’s efforts to increase direct public participation in choosing political representatives and local leaders.