Somalia cabinet approves bill for universal suffrage
Somali Members of Parliament raise their hands to vote on a resolution on the procedural rules for constitutional changes in Mogadishu, Somalia on January 24, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS
Somalia's Cabinet approved a bill on Thursday that, if confirmed by parliament, will revert the country's election system to universal suffrage for the first time in decades, ending a process of indirect voting, the government's spokesperson said.
Amid widespread insecurity caused by an Islamist insurgency and weak state structures, in recent years lawmakers voted for the president, while clan heads and elders elected lawmakers in both the federal government and regional states.
