The Mogadishu local council elections held on 25 November 2025 represent a historic
milestone in Somalia’s political transition. For the first time in over five decades, citizens
exercised direct suffrage to elect local representatives — a fundamental shift away from the
elite-mediated governance structures that have long defined Somali political life. In doing so,
these elections signal a broader reconfiguration of political legitimacy: from negotiated elite
consensus to popular mandate.
Yet the transformative potential of this moment was not fully realized. Of 923,220 registered
voters, only 233,314 cast ballots — a turnout rate of 25.27 percent.1 Nearly three in four eligible
citizens did not participate. This gap is not incidental; it is analytically central to understanding
what these elections achieved and what they failed to deliver.
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Assessing Electoral Transparency, Party Governance, and Public Participation
