A woman delegate from Hirshabelle_state_casts_her_vote_in_Jowhar_during_the_electoral_process_to_choose_members_of_the_House_of_the_People_(Somalia).html" ;"title="Jowhar.html" ;"title="Hirshabelle state casts her vote in Jowhar">Hirshabelle state casts her vote in Jowhar during the electoral process to choose members of the House of the People (Somalia)">House of the People of the Federal Parliament of Somalia Indirect parliamentary elections were held in Somalia in October and November 2016. The Somalian Senate, Upper House was elected on 10 October, with voting taking place for the House of the People (Somalia), House of the People, which was Elections in Somalia, elected between 23 October and 10 November 2016.Fact sheet on Somalia's 2016 electoral process
UNSOM They were the first elections since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, and the newly elected Parliament was due to elect the President on 30 November. However, the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

were delayed and eventually held on 8 February 2017, when the MPs and Senators elected

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ( so, Maxaamed Cabdullaahii Maxaamed, ar, محمد عبدالله محمد; born 11 March 1962), also known as Farmaajo, is a Somali politician who served as president of Somalia from 2017 to 2022. He was prime minis ...

as President. The ongoing

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

prevented an election with full suffrage from taking place, and instead an

indirect election An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...

was held, with 14,025 delegates, themselves appointed by clan elders, electing the Parliament.

Background

The term of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of the Federal Government of Somalia, sworn in in 2012, expired in 2016. In 2012 only 135 elders were part of the electoral process. For the 2016 elections the number was increased to 14,025. Only limited suffrage was granted as the election model relied on clan elders and community representatives rather than a popular vote. The UN envoy to the country warned that al-Shabaab would try to derail the elections.

Electoral system

The 54 members of the Upper House were elected by the state assemblies. The 275 members of the Lower House were elected by 14,025 delegates from different regions in the country. Each MP was elected by an electoral college of 51 people appointed by the 135 Traditional Elders. From the 51 delegates 16 were supposed to be women, 10 from the youth community and the remaining 25 being members of the civil society. From the 275 MPs, 69 were chosen in Baidoa while the remaining were from other cities.

References

{{Somali indirect elections

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2016 elections in Africa 2016 in Somalia

October 2016 events in Africa November 2016 events in Africa