Avoiding Chaos in Somalia's Next Election

 The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies published in September 2025 a commentary titled "Preventing Chaos in Mogadishu: Why Dialogue Must Replace Force."

The commentary calls for dialogue on behalf of the incumbent Somali administration and the political opposition in the runup to elections in 2026, especially concerning the ground rules for voting.  

Avoiding Turmoil in Somalia's Electoral Reform Process

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 24 September 2025 an analysis titled "Electoral Showdown in Somalia: Avoiding Another Round of Turmoil."

Somalia's political opposition sees the government's electoral reform package as an effort to tilt the scales in the incumbent president's favor.  The ICG calls on the government and its opponents to accept a compromise.  

Somalia: Puntland Election Has Plusses and Minuses

 The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 12 March 2024 a commentary titled "Lessons from the Missed Opportunity in Puntland's Polls."

A recent election in Somalia's state of Puntland was peaceful but the ICG concluded it missed an opportunity by pursuing a clan-based indirect voting model rather than universal suffrage.

Somalia's 2020 election

The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies in Mogadishu published in May 2020 a paper titled "Expanded Participation Model: Alternative for Somalia's 2020 One-Person One-Vote Plan." 

The paper makes the argument that Somalia is not ready for national elections based on universal suffrage, but this failure should not be an excuse to delay the elections.  The focus should shift to seeking agreement among key stakeholders to identify a workable model for the upcoming elections.  The paper offers an option: the expanded participation model.