By: Abdulrazak Abduljalil Haji
You might be wondering why I am talking about elections, asking yourself, is this guy an election expert? You are right, I am not an election expert. But I am an expert in data, and elections, at their core, are all about data.
An election is essentially a process of collecting, verifying, analyzing, and reporting citizens’ choices; data that determines who they want to lead them. Every ballot cast by citizens, every voter record, and every result sheet is a data point. Without reliable data, there can be no credible election.
Amid an ending mandate with only six months remaining, President Hassan Sheikh plans to hold one-person, one-vote election in a country long accustomed to indirect, clan-based voting. However, the initiative focuses primarily on political ambition, with little attention to the practical and technical groundwork required to make it successful.
The Missing Data Foundation
NIRA’s Role
The National Identification and Registration Authority’s (NIRA) role in elections is often overlooked by politicians, even though the majority of Somalia’s population still lacks official identification. A credible election in any country is based on the country’s population registry which in our context is the NIRA. However, the mandate of NIRA to register citizens and issue national IDs has been effectively taken over by the Elections Commission. The Commission introduced voter cards with photos, issued to anyone who registers, often multiple times. According to the Commission itself, this has resulted in the duplication of more than 4,000 voter records.
Adding to the confusion, the Commission has announced plans to issue another voter card, claiming that the first one was only a registration card. Both cards, however, contain the same data; non-verifiable data that does not originate from NIRA’s official records. Such actions not only undermine NIRA’s legal mandate but also risk leading the country into a state of identification and electoral chaos while wasting public resources.
Election Software
Another problem is the unreliable election software used to register voters and manage data. A Member of Somalia’s Parliament , Abdirahman Mohamed Isaaq (Abdow), once talked about the possible data manipulation of the system, which undermines trust in the entire process. He said, “You vote for Abdirahman Abdishakur, but your vote goes to Hassan Sheikh.” When the data systems that form the foundation of the election are neither secure nor verifiable, the legitimacy of the results becomes questionable. Technology without integrity is no solution for a country like Somalia.
The Opponents Vs Supporters Debate
The recent debate between Xaqsoor Party Chairperson Mr. Abdirahman Aynte versus Baraaruga Bulshada Banaadir group, together with MP Said Mohamed Mohamud, revealed the limited understanding among the supporters of the one-person, one-vote initiative. The discussion highlighted how the pro-election group appeared to underestimate the importance of electoral integrity and inclusivity. While they expressed hope that the planned elections would transform Somalia for the better, they showed little concern for the fairness and technical soundness of the process. Their arguments lacked both technical depth and intellectual grounding.
In contrast, Mr. Aynte provided a well-informed and thoughtful critique of the government’s election agenda. He skillfully explained its weaknesses and limitations, particularly the vulnerabilities in the ICT systems and election software. Drawing on his team’s extensive analysis and research, he pointed out multiple flaws that could seriously undermine the credibility and integrity of the electoral process.
Lessons from Other Government Sectors
The Ministry of Education Case
Every year, the Somali Ministry of Education administers national examinations all over the country. The Ministry of Education requires every student to have an ID and a school registration number before receiving examination cards for the national exam. Only verified students receive examination cards. No student can walk into the Ministry and demand an exam card without a school ID and registration number. Why should elections, a far more consequential national process, be treated with less rigor than school examination?
The Financial Sector Case
In the financial sector, such as banks and microfinance, identification is everything. In Somalia’s banks, no one can open an account or apply for a loan without valid identification. A bank would never take your photo and declare it as your new ID, as done by the election commission. Verification comes before registration, not the other way around. The same logic should apply to elections; everyone should have an ID to get a voter’s card.
The Auditor General’s Case
Even within government institutions, the Office of the Auditor General recently rejected a donor-funded project’s financial report because it failed to provide the IDs of beneficiaries. If identification is essential for auditing aid programs, it should be even more essential when determining the country’s leadership. Elections are far more important than cash-for-work programs; they do not just save lives – they shape the future of an entire nation.
Learning from Global Practice
In the United States, there was an ongoing debate between the two giant parties of Republicans Vs Democrats around voter ID laws. Republicans argue that allowing voting without identification opens the door to fraud, while Democrats emphasize inclusivity and the right of everyone to vote. Despite their disagreement, the U.S. federal system now enforces ID requirements in most states to ensure election integrity because identity verification in election matters a lot.
Way Forward
Somalia’s journey toward one-person, one-vote will remain fragile unless the foundation of data integrity is prioritized over political ambition. As in any country, a credible election in Somalia must be grounded in NIRA’s population data, which provides a transparent, verifiable, and tamper-proof voter registration system integrated with the national ID. This approach would not only prevent data manipulation but also safeguard citizens’ information.
While Somalia is not yet ready for fully digital elections in which citizens cast votes electronically, the election management software and the ICT infrastructure should be subjected to independent audits by political parties, civil society, and international partners. Furthermore, the government should apply the same identification standards used in sectors such as education and finance to the electoral process.
Without these foundational steps, pursuing a one-person, one-vote election is not only a premature but also a dangerous path,plunging Somalia back into the instability of 1991.
Abdulrazak Abduljalil Haji is a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with over 10 years of experience in designing and managing results-based M&E systems for local and international NGOs.