Somalia’s Road to One Person, One Vote: Challenges and Opportunities

Somalia is preparing for its first one-person-one-vote election since independence in 1960, marking a significant political transformation. The shift from clan-based politics to a direct voting system aims to promote equal representation and address long-standing conflicts, but faces security threats from Al-Shabaab, political disagreements, poor infrastructure, entrenched clan loyalties and limited public awareness. Based on existing literature, policy reports and governance studies, the poster finds that the one-person-one-vote system can strengthen democracy, foster national unity, increase international support and enhance transparency, and recommends strengthening security, promoting dialogue among political entities, building infrastructure, educating the public and ensuring sustainable funding through partnerships.