Somalian Election Protests Met With Violence
Past officials such as former prime minister and presidential candidate Hassan Ali Khaire participate in marches protesting a delayed presidential election.
Somali people took to the streets following a delay in presidential and parliamentary elections after a law change extended Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s term until August 2021. Due to the formation of armed militias and bans on protests, the dissent quickly turned deadly on February 19,.
Peaceful Protests Met with Gunfire
The Somali government initially banned protests against the delay of the presidential and parliamentary elections, citing a possible surge of COVID-19 cases. This prohibition was soon lifted due to constitutional concerns, on the condition that the protests remained peaceful and that the national health measures were respected. A week later, Somali protestors marched in the capital, Mogadishu, in hopes of pushing the government to hold the elections and Mohamed to step down. Instead, they were met with gunfire.
The opposition alliance arranged their own armed militias, which, in addition to the rising concern that the terrorist group al-Shabaab would target citizens, caused the government to reimplement their ban on protests. Tensions between the opposition militias and federal security forces came to a head on February 19. According to Somali police, “Some sort of projectile hit an area with shops and restaurants just inside the airport compound which burned the restaurant to the ground,” which was later discovered to be stray mortar. Others claimed that rocket firings and assassination attempts occurred during the protests, although the identities of the victims are unclear. By February 20, at least five soldiers and over a dozen civilians had been killed, according to an anonymous health worker.
A History of Federal Government Instability
Somalia has wrestled with establishing a central government since 1991, when President Siad Barre was ejected from power, precipitating a devastating civil war. The country’s current government consists of an electoral system in which clan elders—leaders of each of the four major clans within Somalia—vote for Lower House members of the Parliament. The Upper House members are decided on by leaders of the five states within the country. The Somali Parliament then votes for the president, who in turn chooses a prime minister.
The Shift to a Popular Vote for Parliament
The current unrest spurs from a 2020 decision by current president Mohamed, also known as Farmaajo, in which he signed legislation that allowed all Somalis—not just clan leaders—to vote in parliamentary elections. This democratic shift was intended to provide for a more representative election process, but it was initially met with heavy opposition due to its significant implications. Many government and regional leaders approved the new framework, but some federal leaders resisted its official implementation due to concerns about potential conspiracy within the Federal Electoral Implementation Team, a group composed of officials from the Office of the President, security, agencies, and the diplomatic corps. Disagreement also arose over parliamentary seats allotted to the controversial province of Jubbaland, the administration of which is rumored to be in cahoots with Kenya. The new law also extends Farmaajo’s term until August 2021, when the new electoral model’s implementation will be possible. Such a term extension has not been welcomed throughout Somalia.
Discontent with the new electoral law led to a revised version on September 17, 2020, which stated that there would be electoral constituency caucuses consisting of electoral delegates who vote for seats in Parliament. However, this revision was deemed unconstitutional due to its inability to provide for direct universal suffrage in electing parliamentarians. By February 8, the scheduled election day, this issue had yet to be addressed, causing citizens to take to the streets in protest.