The President of the Federal Government of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has strongly defended the implementation of one person, one vote elections, saying that the country has moved beyond the long-standing indirect election system.
The President said that many agreements that have been signed in the past clearly define the election format, committees and the system that is intended to guide the country, but there are politicians who have reneged on their previous commitments.
“If you hear about free elections, they are people I have put in a basket. What is at stake is the interests of the people,” said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
“There are more than twenty agreements that have been signed, which concern one person, one vote elections, the election format and the formation of committees,” the President said, adding that a return to indirect elections is not possible.
President Hassan Sheikh specifically criticized politicians who he accused of preferring a system based on individuals, rather than building institutions and a legal system. He said that the future of the country cannot be determined by “the will of a person or a small group.”
He also stressed that MPs are representatives of the people, and cannot be selected based on the wishes of certain politicians, but that the people should be given the opportunity to cast their votes.
“Indirect elections are over, they are over,” the president reiterated, urging the Somali people to have confidence in their institutions and government.
The president also said that the funds provided for the implementation of the one-person, one-vote election were sourced from within the country, noting that “not a single shilling was provided by foreigners” to support this plan.
Finally, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called for the country to move forward, noting that Somalia cannot afford to remain where it has been since the collapse of the central government in 1991.
