Mogadishu Holds Landmark Municipal Vote

(MENAFN) Residents of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, went to the polls on Thursday in local elections intended to set the stage for the nation’s first direct national vote in over fifty years.

Somalia has not conducted direct elections since 1969, just before former military leader Mohamed Siad Barre seized control through a coup.

After Barre’s removal in 1991 and decades of civil conflict, the country adopted an indirect voting system in 2004. That framework was designed to encourage compromise among rival factions amid the ongoing Islamist insurgency.

The ballot in Mogadishu, a city of nearly three million people, is being regarded as a significant step toward nationwide elections. Although security in the capital has improved in recent years, Somalia continues to face persistent threats from extremist groups.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants, particularly Al-Shabaab, have carried out frequent assaults across several African nations, including those in the Sahel. The group continues to launch raids, bombings, and targeted killings aimed at destabilizing Somalia’s government and regional security.

In August, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) reported that more than 50 Al-Shabaab fighters were eliminated in joint operations with Somali forces in Bariire, located 73 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu.

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