On 8^th August 2024, the Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) cabinet unanimously approved the Political Associations and Parties Bill and the National Electoral Bill. The Political Associations and Parties Bill (PAPB) was drafted by the FGS Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation (MoIFAR) and is consistent with and builds on amendments to Chapter Four of the provisional constitution – particularly articles 52, 53, and 54 – which covers election-related matters. The parliament will review and is expected to approve the bill after three rounds of readings. It is one of three bills relating to elections, along with the Establishment Bill of the Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission & the National Electoral Bill – recently approved by the cabinet. The three bills combined are the cornerstone for the incumbent government’s strategy to deliver ‘one person, one vote’ elections at all three levels of government. If this bill passes through parliamentary legislation procedures and gets ratified by the federal president, it will replace the Political Parties Law No. 19 of 27 June 2016.

The PAPB is organised into four chapters and 36 articles. The first chapter comprises six articles that provide general provisions, such as the scope of the bill and definitions. The second chapter contains most articles (15) and deals with registering political associations and recognising political parties. The third chapter has 8 articles on the financial regulation of political associations and political parties. Finally, the fourth chapter comprises 7 articles and addresses a number of issues, including resolving disputes between political associations and political parties and adjudicating administrative decisions, regulations, and procedures.

Analysis of the substantive provisions of the bill

Difference between political associations and political parties: In the first instance, the bill’s title is distinct from the existing political parties law (No. 19), passed on 27 June 2016, in that it makes direct reference to political associations. This introduces a critical distinction between political associations and political parties that was absent in the existing legislation, which only differentiated between temporary and official registration of political parties.

In chapter one [Art. 3 (1&2)], a political party is defined as a political association that participated in local council elections and secured the most valid votes. Accordingly, these qualifying three political associations will be officially designated as the three national parties that can compete in national and state-level elections. On the other hand, the political association is defined in the bill as citizens who come together or join a peaceful objective and political program to pursue, organised democratically, with a constitution and regulations set in place to guide their activities. It can be registered by this Law – when this bill gets passed by both houses of the parliament and ratified by the president – to compete for the local council elections.The distinction is essential to avoid confusion between the two terms’ usage.  

Right to political participation: Article 4 of the bill specifies the rights to political participation in line with Article 21 of the amended provisional federal constitution. Accordingly, every citizen over 18 years has the right to form or be a member of a political association or party. However, this article makes exceptions, including members of the armed forces, members of the judiciary, diplomats, embassy staff, and civil servants of the federal, state, and local governments who cannot join a political association or party. Further, article 4 [2 (a & b)] prohibits these groups from participating in political campaigns of political associations and parties and presenting political views that demonstrate bias or preferences for specific political associations or parties. The rationale for restricting the right of political participation is likely to safeguard the neutrality and professionalism of these individuals committed to public service and counter any perceptions that they may favour their political group in delivering services.

Structure of political associations and political parties: Article 9 of the bill defines the structure of political associations or parties. It stipulates that a political association or party shall have: a) a party congress, b) a central committee, c) an executive committee, d) political association or party branches, and e) different wings of supporters as written down in its own constitution and regulations. Political associations and parties are also required to have branch offices in at least four federal member states (FMSs) and the Benadir region. Each branch must have at least 2,000 members; meaning each political association or party should have at least 10,000 members across the four FMSs and Benadir. Likewise, the political association or party congress shall have at least 1,000 delegates from each branch. It also lays out that each political association or party shall ensure that the representation and power-sharing of the various segments of the Somali society is balanced and includes women in its membership and official positions. However, the national 30% women’s quota is not mentioned specifically, nor is the 4.5 clan representation formula. Therefore, the bill only implicitly requires would-be political associations to apply these gender and clan quotas.

Registration requirements and fees: Article ten lists eight (8) mostly straightforward registration conditions. However, one condition is the payment of a hefty registration fee of USD 100,000. This fee effectively excludes all but the most wealthy citizens from forming a political party and is arguably a restriction on citizens’ right to political participation, which is clearly enshrined in Article 21 of the amended provisional constitution and Article 4 of this bill.

Transitioning from a political association to a political party: Article 20 sets out two criteria for graduating from political association to party status. Firstly, officially registered political associations must compete for local council elections in at least two-thirds (2/3) of all districts where elections are conducted. Any political association that doesn’t satisfy the first condition will lose the right to participate in the local council elections, and the Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission (INEBC) will remove it from the register of political associations. Secondly, the three political associations with the most valid votes from the local council elections will qualify to become the three political parties that compete at the national level. The qualified parties will then be eligible to run for the state and federal elections.

Article 21 clearly states that the Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission will oversee Political Associations and Parties in planning and implementing any technical assistance they receive from foreign entities. Similarly, every political association or party is prohibited from receiving direct or indirect technical assistance from foreign sources without prior approval from the Commission. Lastly, technical assistance that a political association or party could obtain from a foreign source(s) doesn’t include property, regardless of its nature.

Financing political associations and parties: Chapter three is dedicated to the financial aspects of political associations and parties. Article 22 establishes a fund for financing political associations and parties. Article 24 outlines four sources that contribute to the fund. They are:

1. FGS contributes 1% of its annual budget;
2. Each FMS contribute 0.5% of its annual budget;
3. Donations being paid by stakeholders interested in democracy encouragement and promotion; and
4. Revenue from registration and fines of political associations and parties.

However, it is unlikely that all of these commitments will be easily met due to ongoing budgetary constraints at the FGS and FMSs levels. Article 25 specifies that 90% of the fund’s resources will be allocated to the operations of the political parties, while the remaining 10% is earmarked for the administrative cost of the fund. Further, the allocations that political parties receive from the fund will be proportional to their seat share in both houses of the federal parliament.

Article 25 also states that parties and associations will spend 30% of the funds on party administrative costs. In comparison, the other 70% will be spent on different activities in conformity with the subsequent regulations of this bill or face a fine of USD 25,000-30,000. Article 26 outlines that a party can raise additional financial resources from membership dues and unconditional donations from legal sources.

The article obliges political parties to share information on financial support or donations they receive with the INEBC within 14 working days of receiving it. Furthermore, Article 26 outlaws the parties from receiving financial contributions or support from foreign countries, companies or organisations that undermine Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. It also proscribes political associations or parties from taking out loans to fund their activities. Article 29 also states that the Office of the Auditor General, on its own initiative or following a request from the Commission, can investigate accounts of political associations and parties at the end of the fiscal year.

Status of previously registered political parties: Finally, the bill addresses the status of political parties that had gained temporary political registration from the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) under the existng political parties law. Article 34, which concerns the transitional period (from the current temporarily registered parties to fully registered parties), requires political parties with temporary registration to meet the conditions laid out above and re-register in line with articles 10 and 11 of this Law (once approved by the parliament). Consequently, any political party that attained temporary registration under the previous Political Parties Law No. 19 of 2016 that doesn’t satisfy these requirements will be regarded as non-existent. This effectively means that the over 100 political parties that the NIEC registered provisionally will not be recognised as political associations or parties as they stand now since they don’t qualify for the new criteria of this new political associations and parties bill.

Current bill vs. existing political parties’ law

There is slight variation between the new Political Associations and Parties Bill (PAPB) and the existing Political Parties Law No. 19 of 2016. The significant exceptions are the registration process and requirements. The existing political party law required political organisations to register themselves as permanent political parties at two stages: temporary registration stage and permanent registration stage.

The requirement for temporary registration was straightforward and required only a few steps, including submitting the minutes of the first meeting for the would-be party, the full name of the party and its acronym, and the party’s constitution. It also required the payment of a registration fee of USD 500. Permanent registration, however, had more stringent conditions, including the requirement to have branch offices in at least half of the pre-1991 regions, meaning that they had to establish offices in 9 regions of the 18 regions that existed  pre-1991. It also required the parties to have 10,000 registered voters as members to graduate to a full political party, which was complicated as it meant political parties could only be fully registered once voter registration was completed. Similarly, each would-be party had to pay USD 1,000 as a final registration fee.

Conversely, the current PAPB demands would-be political associations and political parties to set up branch offices in at least four Federal Member States and the Benadir region, and that each branch office must have at least 2,000 members. The requirement is potentially more arduous as it requires a geographical spread of voter support. The bill, however, doesn’t include a condition that these members must be registered voters, potentially enabling the growth and development of political parties. Still, it also raises issues with verifying party membership lists. Another key difference is the massive (hundredfold) registration fee increase to USD 100,000 -.

Additionally, the current PAPB increases the allocation of the FGS and FMSs to the political parties fund. The existing Law No. 19 obliged FGS and FMSs leaders to collectively pay 0.3% of their annual budgets for the fund. On the other hand, the current bill requires FGS to contribute 1% of its annual budget and the FMSs 0.5% of their respective annual budgets.

Implications of the Political Associations and Parties Bill

Several implications could be inferred from the new Political Associations and Parties Bill (as it currently stands). Firstly, the exorbitant USD 100,000 registration fee for would-be political associations and parties set out in the bill, presents a suffocating challenge to aspirant citizens to form political associations and participate in the democratic process. The registration fees normally serve as a symbolic procedure rather than a substantive tool to put a cap on the potential proliferation of political parties. There are other meaningful measures that could be employed to stymie the possibility of party proliferation. These could include requirements for obtaining a certain threshold in the first cycle of the elections (local council elections) to qualify as national political parties.

Secondly, the registration requirement that potential political associations and parties must have offices in four FMSs and the Benadir region makes it likely that particular major clans will dominate in the three-party system that will emerge from this bill. For instance, politicians from Hawiye are likely to take advantage of this requirement as they are predominant in two FMSs ( Galmudug and Hirshabelle) and the Benadir region. They will need to forge a coalition with either South West, Jubaland or Puntland politicians. On the other hand, politicians from Darod will be the second dominant group to form a political party, as there are two FMSs (Puntland & Jubaland) where that clan family is predominant (although it is important to note that Puntland currently remains outside of this electoral process due to its ongoing political rift with the FGS in Mogadishu). Politicians from the Darod clan will likely seek alliances from other major clans, such as the Hawiye or in the South-West state (where the Digil &Mirifle are predominant) to establish a political party.

As a result, the parties that will emerge will be likely be led by the Darod and Hawiye politicians. In many ways, this is a continuation of the historical rivalry between those two groups over national political leadership. They have been alternating the presidency and premiership for most of the period since independence, except once, when Mohamed Ibrahim Igal held the premiership in 1967-1969, interrupting this pattern.

Thirdly, although it still needs to be categorically specified in the PAPB,  the three national political parties that emerge from local elections will dominate the political scene indefinitely and restrict the political space from potential politicians with alternative agendas and policies.

The way forward

As the PAPB is due to be submitted to the parliament for deliberation, members of both houses should push for reduction of the prohibitive USD 100,000 registration fee of Political Associations and Parties to a more realistic amount that won’t restrict citizens’ right to political participation.

Similarly, members of both chambers of the federal parliament should clarify how citizens who become members of political associations and parties will be verified. The political parties law No.19 of 2016 states that party members shall be registered voters.

Further, the PAPB is ambiguous about whether the national parties that emerge from the local elections will hold their status indefinitely or whether a new process will be undertaken after a certain period of time. Both houses of the parliament should consider this issue and clarify the timescale of the first round of the process (perhaps based on a 10/15 year cycle depending on the term limits of the elected institutions at the three levels of government).