# The 1969 Somali parliamentary election > Somalia's last multi-party vote, March 1969: 64 parties, the SYL win, the rush to join it, fraud charges, and the road to the October 1969 coup. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/somali-parliamentary-election-1969/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short The March 1969 election was the last multi-party national vote in Somalia. The Inter-Parliamentary Union recorded that "64 different political groups, most of which were created just before the poll for purely electoral purposes, entered the field on this occasion with 2,214 candidates for the 123 available seats" ([IPU, report on the 1969 election](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF)). The Somali Youth League won 73 seats. The Library of Congress writes that "a number of charges were made of government election fraud, at least some firmly founded" ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*, "The Igaal government"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/19.htm)). The army took power seven months later. See [the 1964 election](/en/history/somali-parliamentary-election-1964/) for the previous vote and [the civilian era, 1960–1969](/en/history/civilian-era-1960-1969/) for the decade. ## How the vote worked From the IPU report ([IPU](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF)): - **The Assembly.** 123 members elected for five years. - **Voters.** All citizens of both sexes aged 18 could vote. "There are no electoral rolls and voters cast their ballots in the constituency in which they are on polling day." - **Constituencies.** There were 48, one per district: 10 single-seat districts decided by majority, and 38 decided by party lists with proportional representation. - **Candidates.** Lists had to be signed by at least 500 electors of the constituency. - **Uncontested seats.** Voting took place in 43 constituencies. In the other 5, the SYL was the only party to put up candidates, who were elected automatically. The Library of Congress adds that "the March 1969 elections were the first to combine voting for municipal and National Assembly posts", and that a candidate needed "either the support of 500 voters or the sponsorship of his clan, expressed through a vote of its traditional assembly" ([LoC](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/19.htm)). ## The result The leading parties, from the IPU report ([IPU](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF)): | Party | Votes | Share | Seats | |---|---:|---:|---:| | Somali Youth League | 260,046 | 33.24% | 73 | | Somali National Congress | 77,339 | 9.89% | 11 | | Hizbia Dastur Mustaqil Somali | 27,681 | 3.54% | 8 | | Somali African National Union | 42,006 | 5.43% | 6 | | Somali Democratic Union | 46,064 | 5.89% | 2 | | Popular Movement for Democratic Action | 42,629 | 5.45% | 2 | | Other parties | | | 21 | There were 879,554 voters, 97,320 void or blank ballots and 782,234 valid votes. All 123 members elected were men (same source). ## After the vote - **Joining the winner.** "By the end of May 1969 the SYL parliamentary cohort had swelled from 73 to 109." With the 11 SNC members in coalition, the government side held 120 of 123 seats ([LoC](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/19.htm)). The IPU says all deputies of other parties joined the SYL "except for a single parliamentarian belonging to the Popular Movement for Democratic Action". - **Incumbents.** "Of the incumbent deputies, 77 out of 123 were not returned (including 8 out of 18 members of the previous cabinet)" (LoC). - **Fraud charges and the courts.** "Discontent was exacerbated when the Supreme Court, under its newly appointed president, declined to accept jurisdiction over election petitions, although it had accepted such jurisdiction on an earlier occasion" (LoC). - **The new cabinet.** [Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal](/en/people/mohamed-haji-ibrahim-egal/) formed a new cabinet. "A few of these 120 left the SYL after the composition of Igaal's cabinet became clear and after the announcement of his program" (LoC). - **15 October 1969.** "A bodyguard killed president Shermaarke while prime minister Igaal was out of the country" ([LoC, "Coup d'Etat"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/20.htm)). See [Abdirashid Ali Shermarke](/en/people/abdirashid-ali-shermarke/). - **21 October 1969.** "When it became apparent that the assembly would support Igaal's choice" for a new president, army units seized Mogadishu. The new Supreme Revolutionary Council "banned political parties, abolished the National Assembly, and suspended the constitution" (same source). See [the Somali Democratic Republic, 1969–1991](/en/history/somali-democratic-republic-1969-1991/). ## Who suffered? - **Candidates who lost and their supporters,** who the Library of Congress says were "frustrated and angry", with no court to hear their petitions (LoC). - **Elected members and leaders of the civilian government,** arrested after the coup and held at the presidential palace, including Egal ([LoC](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/20.htm)). ## Sources differ - **How many joined the SYL.** The Library of Congress says the SYL grew from 73 to 109 members by the end of May 1969 and that the members of the 24 smaller parties, fifty in all, joined it. The IPU says all but one deputy from other parties joined. - **What the results showed.** The Library of Congress writes that the high defeat of incumbents "did not unequivocally demonstrate dissatisfaction with the government", since the figures were "nearly identical with the results of the 1964 election". ## Read the primary sources yourself - Inter-Parliamentary Union, *Somalia: elections of 26 March 1969*: [PDF](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1969_E.PDF). - Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study* (1993): ["The Igaal government"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/19.htm), ["Coup d'Etat"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/20.htm). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.