Political parties and movements
Political parties laws of Somalia, 2016 and 2024
Federal Somalia has had two political parties laws. The first was passed by the House of the People on 6 June 2016 by 145 votes to 3 and signed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 4 September 2016. The second, the Political Parties and Organisations Law, was approved by both houses on 21 November 2024 by 177 votes with 1 abstention, alongside a new National Electoral Law and a law on the electoral commission. Parties register with the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Which laws govern political parties in federal Somalia?
Two federal laws have set the rules for parties since the Provisional Constitution of 2012:
- the Political Parties Law of 2016; and
- the Political Parties and Organisations law of 2024, passed with the new election laws.
The Provisional Constitution also sets terms for registering parties, and registration is handled by the electoral commission (NIEC, Political parties).
The 2016 Political Parties Law
The House of the People passed the Political Parties Bill on 6 June 2016 by 145 votes to 3, with 1 abstention (Goobjoog, 6 June 2016). Ahmed Mo'alim Fiqi, then secretary general of the Daljir Party, told Goobjoog: "This is good step by the parliament although it came late" (same source).
The electoral commission states that the law was ratified by Parliament and signed by the President on 4 September 2016 (NIEC). Goobjoog reported on 5 September 2016 that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud "on Sunday assented to the Political Parties bill" (Goobjoog, 5 September 2016). The commission registers parties through a written application, which it assesses against its Political Party Registration Manual and checklist (NIEC).
The 2024 law
On 21 November 2024, members of both houses of the Federal Parliament approved the law on political parties and organisations. Speaker Adan Mohamed Nur (Madobe) announced 177 votes in favour, 1 abstention and no votes against. Mahdi Mohamed Guled, chair of the interim committee drafting the election rules, presented the amendments, and Interior Minister Ali Yusuf (Ali Hoosh) welcomed the vote (SONNA, 21 November 2024).
It was one of three laws approved that month to put the 2024 amendments to Chapter 4 of the Constitution into practice. The other two were the National Electoral Law and the law establishing the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (ConstitutionNet).
How many parties may compete?
ConstitutionNet reports how the question changed (ConstitutionNet):
- An early draft would have let only the two parties with the most local council votes compete in federal and state elections.
- Members of Parliament changed this to allow at least three national parties.
- The constitutional amendments as adopted contain "no restriction on the number of political parties allowed to contest in national elections".
- A compromise with part of the opposition National Salvation Forum proposed a threshold, under which only parties winning at least 10 percent of the vote would gain seats in the House of the People.
The adoption of the November 2024 laws "triggered immediate and severe political backlash", in ConstitutionNet's words (same source).
Party registration for the 2027 elections
On 31 October 2026 the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced that party registration would be open from 1 to 22 November 2026. Its timetable sets parliamentary elections for 15 April 2027 and a presidential election for 15 May 2027 (Dawan).
Related pages
Sources
- NIEC, Political parties · niec.so
- Goobjoog, 6 June 2016 · en.goobjoog.com
- Goobjoog, 5 September 2016 · en.goobjoog.com
- SONNA, 21 November 2024 · sonna.so
- ConstitutionNet · constitutionnet.org
- Dawan · dawan.africa
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