Asian Journal of Management Sciences & Education Vol. 11(2) July- October 2022__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________THE IMPACT OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES ON SOMALIA'S
DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY OF 2021 UPPER HOUSE ELECTION
IN SOUTHWEST STATE
Ibrahim Hassan Barrow
Senior Lecturer, Somali International University, Mogadishu, SOMALIA.
Barrow003@gmail.com
ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of electoral malpractices
on Somalia’s democracy, a study with special reference to the 2021 upperhouse election in the Southwest State. The study critically investigated theelection process for the upper house senates from the Southwest State ofSomalia by describing the attendant problems as well as the malpractices
associated with it. The study used descriptive and analytical methods throughthe case study method. It drew heavily on secondary sources of information,
the internet, journals, magazines, newspapers, and unstructured interviews for
its data. The paper found out that electoral malpractice in the Southwest Stateof Somalia is closely related to the type and forms of historical politicalsystems practiced by each society, coupled with the class structure, social
stratification, and constitutional crisis experienced in the country. The study
concluded that there will always be electoral malpractice until elections
become completely competitive, electorates are free to choose between
alternatives, and a liberal political system is implemented.
Keywords: democracy, electoral malpractices, senates, constitutional
crisisINTRODUCTION
Uncertainty about the legitimacy of elections is not a new phenomenon in the world that has
swept democracy, and many states are currently grappling with it in the face of growing
political distrust (Norris, 2018). Establishing electoral legitimacy and credibility is critical tothe country's political profile, as it mitigates the impacts of electoral fraud and combats
political nexus, while also bringing peace and growth (Isma’ila & Othman, 2016). Electoral
tampering is a direct violation of basic fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of
association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and the right to choose one leader,among many other important rights and freedoms that are universally recognized andprotected today as essential characteristics of modern democracy (Adesanya, 2020).
The illegal election could significantly damage the country’s economy, extensively spreadpolitical instability, extreme poverty, and led long-irregular conflicts among citizens, as a lotof nations have been suffering from the negative impact of political corruption on peace anddemocracy (Simpser, 2013). In order to maintain democracy, improve human development
results, galvanize reasonable economic growth, and increase resilience to external shocks,
any state must address corruption. Despite the significant risks associated with anticorruption reform, institutions often reveal corruption schemes, which should spur change
and hold corrupt players accountable (Boehm, 2015).

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States in Africa and the Middle East are usually seen as less democratic in discussions about
the expansion and prospects of democracy in the global South, owing to dictatorships,
monarchies, and dynastic rulers, and this is accurate in terms of democratic deficits in the tworegions (Tar, 2010). No doubt that African states are less experienced in good governanceand liberal democracy, where political powers are not seriously followed by the rule of law
and other enforcement mechanisms, administrative inefficiency, political corruption,
economic mismanagement, and social decay have further undermined the authority of
autocratic leaders and national institutions (El-Khawas, 2001).
Somalia is considering as a place where there is no order, no democracy, no safety, and neveran easy environment for free and fair elections as it is one of the African states that has not
yet graduated from war, political instability, extremism, and a leading world corruption index
every year (Menkhaus, 2017). On the ground, the 2021 upper house elections in all federal
member states, including the Southwest State of Somalia, were marred by electoral
manipulation and misconduct as electoral stakeholders have raised concerns, disappointing,as corruption, abuses of power, and economic crises continue to plague national life (Garowe
Online, 2021). Despite the fact that the Al-Shabab insurgency has resulted in the most violent
incidents, fatalities, and other dangerous cases in the South West state, election-related
volatility was lower than in other Somali states (Carboni & Daud, 2021).
In Somalia, the existing indirect election format has a direct negative impact on democracy
and political inclusive, as it casts doubt on the credibility of free and fair senate elections. The
indirect electoral system takes into account the fact that state assemblies will vote on theUpper House, which will be overseen by state election committees. Numerous problems were
publicly reported in the 2021 upper house election process, including corruption, partiality,
political retaliation against specific individuals, and other gaffes. The elected senates havedecided to establish norms such as clan membership, ability to pay required fees, and otherrequirements. The election for the Senate
Statement of the Problem
Today, free and fair elections instruct the country’s political profile classification on to what
extent democracy is being practiced in the country (Aluaigba, 2016). The utmost difficulty
and projecting feature of any significant democracy acknowledged all over the world is the
conduct of acceptable, credible, free and fair elections at all tiers of government, which canbring true and stable political progress that is determined by free and fair elections (Ekka,
2019). Democratic elections are an essential component of liberal democracy, but mostAfrican states appear to be in a democratic crisis, owing to the continent's popularity for
dictatorship regimes and other anti-democracy aspects (Abejumobi, 2019). Politicalcorruption and violence are major impediments to free and fair elections in developing
countries (Ila and Othman, 2016).
The 2021 Upper House elections in Somalia, particularly in Southwest State, have beenmarred by numerous irregularities, with corruption, favoritism, political retaliation against
specific individuals, and other blunders. The elected senates have chosen to specify norms
like clan membership, the ability to pay necessary fees, and other conditions. The Senate
election happened over all federal member states of Somalia was plunged into unprecedented
constitutional confusion, which resulted in the five federal member states' difficulty agreeing
on the terms of the senate election mechanisms. Every election in Somalia related to bothparliamentary houses can experience malfunctioning, delay of election, snatching of ballot
boxes, high levels of insecurity, and destruction of lives and properties. All these have always

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greeted the federal or state electoral process, thus slowing the growth of democracy inSomalia.
This study was investigating the impact of electoral malpractices on Somalia’s democracy,with a special focus on the 2021 upper house election held in the Southwest State of Somalia.
As a result of this, many Somalis are disappointed in being candidates and voting during
elections as they have this mindset that elections are unfair elections.
LITERATURE REVIEWThe type of government that exists in Somalia is a federal parliamentary system ofgovernment where the President is the head of government, to whom the Cabinet reports
through the Prime Minister. Since when Somalia got its independence, the country has been
experiencing presidential and parliamentary elections. The current system is bicameral,consisting of an Upper House and a House of the People. All elections held in Somalia wereindirect elections, as it was clear that they would not end up peaceful, inclusive, andtransparent elections. Somalia has never held an election based on equal representation voting
or one man, one vote, for it is all government ties.
According to Norris & Pippa (2012), a formal decision-making process in which a group ofpeople picks a candidate for public office is known as an election. Electoral violence,
unfortunately, causes significant carnage and destruction in the majority of developing
countries, destabilizes fledgling democracies, and halts human development progress.
Democracy, together with effective application of a country's norms and regulations, is often
regarded to reduce corruption. Democracy reduces corruption to a great level, and the effectis much larger than estimates that do not account for indigeneity. As a result, democracy may
be more important in preventing corruption than prior research suggests (Kolstad & Wiig,2015). Electoral manipulations and political distrust seem to be on the rise almost everywherein the world. For instance, the only credible opposition leader in Russia, Alexei Navalny, wasrejected to be part of the presidential elections in 2018; in the Italian 2018 general elections,
there was restricted politicization of media regulation, lack of media diversity, and many
political hazards still exist around the world (Mauk, 2018).
According to Samatar (2021), by the mid-1990s, the world had recognized Somalia as
Africa's first failing post-colonial state. However, this large country of only 10 million people
had a magnificent past before to the disaster. In 1964 and 1967, it was the first country on thecontinent to have a democratic transition of power; in the 1960s, Somalia gained a reputation
for holding the most democratic elections on the continent. The continent was engulfed in
dictatorships at the time, reeling from deadly military coups and stumbling under one-party
control. Somalia has found itself in a difficult situation in terms of international relations andthe general election in 2021. Despite having quite good political lessons about a smoothtransition of power and a new election model that has been implemented for the lategovernments, Farmajo’s administration increased numerous inconveniences and recurrent
political distrust of Somalia's citizens. But, these political challenges are not new. One thingthat has yet to remain unmanaged is electoral disputes and electoral manipulation andmisconduct. Irrespective of the outcome of the election impasse, the impacts thereof will
have long lasting effects on Somalia’s democratic hopes (Parker, 2021).
According to Saxena (1993), the subject of restoring democracy in Somalia must be
considered in the perspective of the wider restoration of democracy in East Africa as a whole,as well as its historical context. In Africa, the current push for democratic elections is still
relatively sluggish. In the situation of Somalia, a free and fair election at all levels of
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Asian Journal of Management Sciences & Education Vol. 11(2) July- October 2022__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

government is logically impossible. The immediate objective must be to terminate the civil
war and place the entire country under the administration of a national unity government.
Somalia, which hasn't had a democratic government since independence, will need a long
period of peace and stability.
Electoral fraud and malpractice are both significant threats to the democratic process, butthey are not the same. Although any electoral assistance programming can address fraud andmalpractice concerns in an indirect manner, election managers and other key stakeholders
play a significant role in addressing election process integrity in a proactive and directmanner.
The Senate of Somalia
When Somalia adopted a bicameral legislature and formed its 10th Parliament in 2016, theupper house was created. This was after the mandates of Article 61, section (3), and Article
71, which established the Upper House and discharged the 9th Parliament's powers.
In 2012, the electorate rose from 135 elderly men to almost 14,000 people, preserving thewomen’s quota for 30% of the overall electorate seats. The Senate of Somalia is responsible
for facilitating Federalism Principles, originating and amending legislation, evaluating bills,
and performing oversight tasks on behalf of the Federal Member States.
The Senate is made up of 54 senators from all federal member states. The Senate is made up
of senators who each represent the entirety of a single state.
According to Asha A. Siyad, Executive Director, Somali Women's Leadership Initiative, due
to the country's clan-based political structure, women's political engagement is limited andthey play a minor role in decision-making. Furthermore, she stressed that women have won
26% of the seats in the Upper House, which is a very modest percentage of the total Upper
House election (UN Security Council, 2021). The composition of senate seats for eachFederal Member State in Somalia is shown in the table below.
Table 1. Senate Composition
State

Number of Senate Seats

Percentage

Somaliland (self-declared
independence)

11

20%

Puntland

11

20%

Southwest

8

15%

Jubaland

8

15%

Galmudug

815%Hirshabelle

8

15%

Total

54

100%

Electoral Stalemate
Somalia is engulfed in a deepening political crisis. The long-running electoral impasse cameto a head on April 12, 2021, when incumbent President Mohammed Farmajo signed a
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contentious law passed by the Lower House of Parliament, thus extending his andParliament's terms by two years. Despite signing the September 17 Agreement, which called
for indirect elections, Somalia's political leaders have failed to reach an agreement on theelection's timetable and protocols. Disagreements over the composition of federal and stateelectoral committees, the security problem in the Gedo region, and the challenges ofmanaging votes from Somaliland are among the key concerns that have contributed to theimpasse. Elections in Somalia are critically needed. The country's ongoing stabilization andnation-building efforts may be exposed by recent dynamics characterized by armed
bloodshed and security sector schisms. External partners in Somalia are instructed to work
together to urge leaders back to conversation and support a mediated process leading to aconsensus and inclusive electoral path (Joel et al., 2021).
During Farmaajo’s term, Somalia faced its worst constitutional and political crisis, increased
inter-clan conflicts, and this left an immensely bad political footprint for the country as wellas threatened diplomatic ties and security in the entire Horn of Africa region. Politically,
Somalia is not much different today than it was during the civil war. Considering the Arta
peace process, political groups, particularly the Darood and Hawiye clans, are only aiming tocompete for power and wealth, but never put the need to rethink governance on the agenda.
The immense and ongoing efforts to rebuild the nation, from security to the constitution to
the reconciliation process, are national priorities.
Electoral Malpractice: Disabling Free and Fair Elections
Over the last four years, state presidential and other local elections have been held in each of
the five federal member states during Farmaajo's political office term. With the notable
exception of Puntland, these elections were incorrectly predicated on obtaining certain
outcomes and Farmaajo's satisfaction. The federal administration was in charge of rigging
local elections in Southwest, Galmudug, and Hirshabeelle so that its friends could return thefavor by directing federal parliamentary elections. Furthermore, the incumbent president of
Jubbaland planned his re-election campaign in such a way that his rivals were unable to fighton a level playing field (Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, 2021). Since the establishmentof the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia until the administration of Hassan Sheikh
Mohamoud, Somalia has progressed slowly in terms of political development, with inclusiveelections and a peaceful handover of power to the next chosen president. Unfortunately,
following Farmaajo's election, Somalia's political situation devolved into indirection politics,
escalating clan-based violence and severing diplomatic ties with many bordering states (Hills,2021).
Politics in Somalia: No Separation between the State and the Ruling Party
If one goes back far enough in time, Somalia has been in a political crisis from the moment it
won independence until the present. The situation arose from a long-standing trust gap
between the centrifugal and centripetal forces in Somalia, which has grown worse with eachpassing year. Every president's administration fails to adequately manage the country's
complex political situation. This simply shows why democratization and political maturity in
Somalia were never going to happen. It lacked what appeared to be essential for
constitutional democratic politics. In Somalia, there is no distinction between the state andthe ruling party (Elmi, 2021). One of the key mechanisms of Somalia’s political settlement isholding an election every four years, as the country’s provisional constitution says. However,every political party is causing delays, deeply corrupt governments, and other tenuous
situations with the aim of re-electing a majority of the parliamentary seats that belong to thecurrent ruling party.
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Asian Journal of Management Sciences & Education Vol. 11(2) July- October 2022__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________METHODOLOGY
The study is qualitative in nature, and its content uses unstructured interviews and secondary
data to describe the impact of electoral malpractice on Somalia's democracy, with a focus on
the 2021 upper house election in Somalia's Southwest State. In its analysis, it used descriptive
and analytical methodologies as well as the case study method. The paper drew heavily on
secondary sources such as unstructured interviews, the internet, journals, magazines, andnewspapers for its data.
Farmaajo's Political Tenure: Vengeance, Electoral Crisis, and Violence.
Apart from Somalia’s long-running political instability and the worst insecurity ever, which
has had the country tipped into civil war and violence in the past years, nothing is worse thanwhat Farmaajo and his team have done during their tenure. Farmaajo’s administration has
steered the country into a new dangerous phase, characterized by dictatorial ideology, themisuse of all kinds of national arms for his own political gain, state internal policy swapping,and revenge killings targeting specific politicians from power clans, particularly those with
political will.
Trust and support from the citizens in and out of the country for Farmaajo's administration
have turned into regret due to his leadership problems, increased political assassinations, anddouble clan clashes in all regions in the south-central parts of Somalia. The violence comeson the back of the Somali elite’s repeated failure to agree on how to hold an election, with thetemperature continuing to rise after President Farmajo ran over his term limit and stayed in
office. Tensions escalated further when parliament on April 12th, unconstitutionally,
extended Farmaajo’s term by two years (Mahmood, 2021). This has resulted in heavy
fighting between rival army units and troops loyal to Farmaajo fighting in the streets ofMogadishu, and has been witnessed for the first time in history, fighting for a couple of daysin the capital of Somalia.
CONCLUSION
After being delayed several times, Somalia's upper house election was completed late in 2021
as a result of political turmoil in all federal member states of Somalia. Numerous
irregularities have marred the 2021 Upper House elections in Somalia, particularly inSouthwest State, including corruption, favoritism, political retaliation against specificindividuals, and other gaffes. The elected senates have decided to specify norms such as clan
membership, ability to pay required fees, and other conditions. The Senate election took placeacross all federal member states of Somalia, causing unprecedented constitutional crisis andmaking it difficult for the five federal member states to agree on the terms of the senate
election mechanisms. All senators from the federal member states in Somalia were elected bytheir respective state legislatures, and it is believed that the elections were not free and fair as
many candidates were blocked from running for a seat; this is because the state president only
submitted a list of candidates who were seen as his political interests.
The study concluded that there will always be electoral malpractice until elections becomecompletely competitive, electorates are free to choose between alternatives, and a liberalpolitical system is implemented.

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