Rift Valley Institute

After a period of political impasse, leaders in Somalia— under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble— have agreed to a timetable for indirect elections in 2021. Elections for the Upper House are now scheduled for 25 July, for the Lower House between 10 August and 10 September, with the presidential election scheduled for 10 October. Though easing tensions, especially in the capital Mogadishu where armed forces had confronted each other in April, the agreement left several crucial elements of the electoral process unaddressed, including the selection process of delegates and the mechanism for ensuring the 30 percent quota for women’s seats in the Parliament, security management and electoral funding. At the same time, Puntland Federal State is testing a one-person-one vote electoral model for local council elections in three districts - Qardho, Eyl, and Ufeyn. This is a significant development, because a successfully managed electoral process in Puntland could provide a model for a broader