![Residents cast ballots at polling stations as people in Mogadishu vote directly in local elections for the first time since 1969, marking a historic moment in the country’s electoral process, in Mogadishu, Somalia, on December 25, 2025. [Abuukar Mohamed Muhidin - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AA-20251225-40073419-40073415-SOMALIS_VOTE_DIRECTLY_IN_LOCAL_ELECTIONS_FOR_FIRST_TIME_SINCE_1969.jpg)
When the people of Mogadishu went to the polls to elect their local council, Somalia quietly crossed a historic threshold. For the first time since 1960, citizens cast ballots through universal suffrage—not as members of clans represented by elders, but as individuals exercising a fundamental democratic right. In a country long defined by indirect elections, negotiated power-sharing, and elite bargains, this moment deserves reflection not only as a political event, but as a profound shift in national consciousness. Two years ago, as Somalia embarked on the contentious yet necessary amendment of its provisional constitution, I argued that reform carried the potential to return power to the people—to replace nepotism with merit, and elite selection with public choice. That assertion was […]
