Women will get 81 seats in the next parliament, Somali president affirms

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said that 81 or more members in the next parliament will be women ahead of  Somalia’s parliamentary elections scheduled to which is set for this month involving 14,025 delegates.

On Thursday, the President presided over the launch of the campaign which will see to it that a database for female candidates is set up. The campaign will mobilise women to register for elective positions and use lobbyists to sensitize clan elders on the critical role women play in decision making.

“You cannot escape the 30 percent quota for women by saying we are from so and so clan and we have only one or two seats. If you have two seats in your sub-clan, the threshold will be raised to the upper clan level,” said Mohamud. ” Amongst that representation, the 30 per cent reserved seats for women will be realized. If that does not solve the problem, a resolution mechanism has been put in place. All those eventualities have been contemplated and prepared for.”

Earlier, the Federal Minister of Women Ms. Zahra Mohamed Ali Samatar said women were unsure of the exact seats allocated to them under the 30 per cent quota.
“We have got few women candidates in this conference since most of them have gone to their constituencies. But they are anxiously waiting to hear which seats they will contest for. Mr President, this year we want 30 per cent women’s quota, and God willing, in the coming years, women will be able to vie for the seat of Speaker of Parliament,” Minister Samatar stated.

The one-day National conference for women was attended by a section of women parliamentary aspirants from the regional administrations of Galmudug, South West, Puntland and Jubbaland and representatives of the civil society.

Last month, Somali National Leadership forum has agreed on 30% quota women representation in Somali next parliament which elected by over 14000 delegates before the end of this year.