"I believe cultural change will favour women, especially when we move to party politics, where leaders are elected on the basis of their manifestos and not gender,” the words of Suldan Warsame Suldan Alio Ibrow, an influential clan elder from Somalia’s South West state.
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Through the eyes of Suldan Warsame – a clan elder’s perspective on women’s participation in the electoral process
“Ultimately, I believe cultural change will favour women, especially when we move to party politics, where leaders are elected on the basis of their manifestos and not gender.” These words by Suldan Warsame Suldan Alio Ibrow…
A delegate casts her vote during the electoral process to choose members of the House of the people in Baidoa, Somalia on 1 December 2016. UN Photo
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South West State approaches final stages of voting for House of the People
South West State has filled 66 seats out of the 69 allocated after today’s voting which has elected Hanifa Mohamed Ibrahim, formerly a gender officer for the South West presidency. She was declared the winner in an all-female…
A delegate votes during the electoral process to choose members of the House of the People in Jowhar, Somalia on 3 December 2016. UN Photo
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Voting for House of the People seats enters its final stages in HirShabelle, South West and Galmudug states
Three more candidates have been elected to the House of the People in the past two days from the states of HirShabelle, South West and Galmudug as the electoral process enters its final stage. Two of the three newly elected…
A delegate votes during the electoral process to choose members of the House of the People in Jowhar, Somalia on 4 December 2016. UN Photo
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Five candidates elected to the House of the People in Banaadir region and HirShabelle
Five more candidates were elected today to seats in the House of the People in Banaadir region and HirShabelle state in the latest round of voting. In Banaadir, Fahma Ahmed Nuur, a former Deputy Minister of Justice, and…
Students of Simad University, a premier private university in Mogadishu, Somalia, attend a lecture on 3 December 2016. UN Photo
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University students exchange views on Somalia’s 2016 electoral process
A group of second-year students is listening closely to the retired police general Jama Mohamed Ghalib as he delivers an hour-long lecture on Somalia’s turbulent political history in a classroom at Simad University. A…
Journalists cover the electoral process in Mogadishu, Somalia on 4 December 2016. UN Photo
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Some journalists steer clear of controversy in coverage of Somalia’s electoral process
Some Somali journalists admit they have practiced self-censorship in reporting the ongoing electoral process in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for members of the news media. “We usually refrain from news that…
Officers of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and UN officials, attend the opening of a workshop organised by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), to build the capacity of NISA as part of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme for ex-combatants of Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, on 6 December 2016. UN Photo
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Somali intelligence agency officials set up harmonized screening criteria for former al-Shabaab combatants
A two-day workshop on the harmonisation of screening processes for low- and high-risk ex-Al Shabaab combatants opened in the Somali capital today. The workshop aims to harmonise screening criteria among agents of the National…
Abdirisak Omar Ahmed, a law student of SIMAD University, said, "My desire is to see the restoration of the rule of law and that is what is happening now. The extension of the Electoral College to other regions other than Mogadishu is good for the stability of the country. I am pleased with the electoral process. The difference between 2012 and the current process, is in its inclusiveness." UN Photo
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Somali youth express satisfaction with the ongoing electoral process
Thirty-two-year-old Ibrahim Dahir Hussein was one of the Somali youth who had lost hope in the country’s politics. He was tired of hearing old politicians repeat that youth are the future leaders, yet no action was being…
A female delegate casts her vote in the Somaliland election to vote a member of parliament into Somalia's House of the People in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 6 December 2016. UN Photo
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Somaliland and northern regions begin voting for the House of the People
Six candidates were elected to the House of the People as voting for Somaliland and northern regions commenced today in the Somali capital. The victorious candidates included Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Omar Arte…
A delegate casts her vote during the electoral process in Baidoa, Somalia on 5 December 2016. UN Photo
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South West concludes voting for House of the People seats
Somalia’s South West State completed elections for 69 seats in the House of the People today, becoming the second federal state to do so after Jubbaland. The last day of voting saw the reelection of two former members of…
A delegate votes during the electoral process to choose members of the House of the People in Jowhar, Somalia on 6 December 2016. UN Photo
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Four more candidates elected as House of the People voting nears end in HirShabelle and Galmudug
Four candidates were elected to the House of the People in Galmudug and HirShabelle today as electoral bodies in the two states prepared to conclude the electoral process. Three of the four candidates were elected in the…
A shopkeeper counts Somali Shillings inside his shop in Kismaayo on 4 December 2016. UN Photo
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Electoral process a boom to Somalia’s business sector
The business community in Somalia is reaping a windfall of profits from the ongoing electoral process with hotels booked to capacity, printing companies flooded with orders and travel agencies barely coping with the soaring…