# The 1964 Somali parliamentary election

> Somalia's first post-independence national election, March 1964: the parties, the results, women's vote in the north, and the crisis over the prime minister.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/somali-parliamentary-election-1964/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

"Countrywide municipal elections, in which the SYL won 74 percent of the seats, occurred in November 1963. These were followed in March 1964 by the country's first postindependence national elections. Again the SYL triumphed, winning 69 out of 123 parliamentary seats" ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*, "The Husseen government"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/18.htm)).

The Library of Congress adds that the party's "true margin of victory was even greater, as the fifty-four seats won by the opposition were divided among a number of small parties" (same source). For the decade as a whole, see [the civilian era, 1960–1969](/en/history/civilian-era-1960-1969/). For the party, see [the Somali Youth League](/en/history/somali-youth-league/).

## Before the vote

- **The constitution.** The June 1961 referendum on the constitution "was in effect Somalia's first national election". It was "overwhelmingly approved in the south" but "supported by less than 50 percent of the northern electorate" ([Library of Congress, "From independence to revolution"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/15.htm)).
- **Women's vote in the north.** "In May 1963, by an assembly margin of 52 to 42, suffrage was extended to women in former [British Somaliland](/en/history/british-somaliland-1884-1960/) as well" (same source).
- **Political life.** The Library of Congress writes that "politics was at once the Somalis' most practiced art and favorite sport", and that "the level of political participation often surpassed that in many Western democracies" (same source).
- **The border.** The vote came weeks after fighting with Ethiopia. See [the 1964 Ethiopian–Somali border war](/en/history/ethiopian-somali-border-war-1964/).

## The result

The figures as given in Nohlen, Krennerich and Thibaut, *Elections in Africa: A data handbook* (1999), p. 812 ([as cited by Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Somali_parliamentary_election)):

| Party | Votes | Share | Seats |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Somali Youth League (SYL) | 472,296 | 51.67% | 69 |
| Somali National Congress (SNC) | 186,208 | 20.37% | 22 |
| Somali Democratic Union (SDU) | 95,707 | 10.47% | 15 |
| Somali Independent Constitutional Party (Hizbia Dastur Mustaqil Somali) | 80,173 | 8.77% | 9 |
| Total | 914,069 | | 123 |

The Inter-Parliamentary Union later recorded that 21 parties contested the 1964 election ([IPU, report on the 1969 election](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF)).

## The crisis over the prime minister

From the Library of Congress ([*Somalia: A Country Study*, "The Husseen government"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/18.htm)):

- **The nomination.** President [Aden Abdulle Osman](/en/people/aden-abdulle-osman/) chose [Abdirizak Haji Hussein](/en/people/abdirizak-haji-hussein/) as prime minister "instead of the incumbent, Shermaarke, who had the endorsement of the SYL party leadership". The crisis "left Somalia without a government until the beginning of September".
- **Clan balance.** Hussein chose ministers "on the basis of ability and without regard to place of origin", which "broke the unwritten rules that there be clan and regional balance".
- **The first vote.** The proposed cabinet "failed to be affirmed by a margin of two votes". Forty-eight SYL members voted for Hussein, thirty-three against, and seven, including [Abdirashid Ali Shermarke](/en/people/abdirashid-ali-shermarke/), abstained.
- **Greater Somalia.** The debate "centered on the issue of Greater Somalia". Hussein "was portrayed as willing to accept the continued sovereignty of Ethiopia and Kenya over Somali areas".
- **Party switching.** "In the first three months after the election, seventeen members of the parliamentary opposition resigned from their parties to join the SYL."
- **The second vote.** The President nominated Hussein again. A second cabinet list, with three more posts for opposing factions, was approved. Hussein stayed in office until the presidential election of June 1967, when the Assembly chose Shermarke over Aden Abdulle Osman.

## Who suffered?

- **Northern voters,** who had rejected the 1961 constitution by majority and whose share of power was a lasting complaint. The Library of Congress records that dissatisfaction "boiled over in December 1961" in an attempted coup by junior officers in the north ([LoC](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/15.htm)).

## Sources differ

- **The size of the SYL win.** The SYL won 69 of 123 seats, but party switching after the vote made its real majority larger (LoC).
- **How many parties stood.** The IPU gives 21 parties for 1964. The sources linked here give vote figures for four.

## Read the primary sources yourself

- Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study* (1993): ["From independence to revolution"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/15.htm), ["The Husseen government"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/18.htm).
- Inter-Parliamentary Union, report on the 1969 Somali elections, with the 1964 comparison: [PDF](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF).

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