MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somalia said on Sunday that it has concluded voter registration for Mogadishu’s municipal council elections, set for Oct. 30, in what authorities described as a historic step in the country’s democratic process.

Nearly 1 million residents of the capital registered for the polls, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“On October 30, 2025, the people of Mogadishu will head to the polls to elect members of the municipal council and the mayor of Mogadishu. I am very pleased that nearly one million people have registered with us, and their list will be announced on the 27th of this month,” Commission Chairman Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan told reporters in Mogadishu.

The announcement comes amid political tensions over Somalia’s electoral model. Opposition leaders, including former presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, have rejected the government’s one-person, one-vote plan.

Talks last week between the opposition and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ended without a deal. Opposition groups warned they may hold a parallel vote, calling the direct-election plan unilateral.

The 2022 election was based on Somalia’s 4.5 clan-based system, which allocated equal parliamentary shares to four major clans and a half-share to minority groups.

Somalia has not held direct elections since 1967. By Mohamed Dhaysane, Anadolu Agency