Risks, Challenges and Opportunities of Sub-national Democratisation in Somalia – November 2021

While progress towards one person one vote elections to appoint the federal parliament continues to encounter obstacles, the impetus is growing for sub-national democratic processes at the FMS level. For example, Somaliland has undertaken multiple OPOV elections now over two decades and Puntland has completed its initial pilot local elections in 2021 and is preparing for state-wide local elections in 2022. In addition, other FMS are eager to explore setting up their own elections at district and state parliamentary levels. Although a sub-national approach to OPOV elections may be a valuable complement to the initiatives to deliver federal elections, it is essential that policymakers understand the potential risks, challenges and opportunities of a dual-track approach and, subsequently, how to anticipate and manage risks and harness opportunities going forward.

This paper forms part of SSF’s wider body of work supporting sub-national democratisation and sits alongside research papers such as; Sub-national Democratisation: Policy steps, processes and considerations; Guidance Note – Gender, Social Inclusion and Sub-national Democratisation; and Puntland’s Path to the Polls.