Somalia's top political leaders have announced the presidential election will be held on December 28, the fourth date so far set to conclude drawn-out, delayed and limited polls. The new timetable was laid out in a joint statement issued late Thursday by the government, the leaders of Somalia's federal states and the election body. It said parliamentary elections - under way since October - must be completed by December 14 with the election of speakers of the lower and upper houses on December 22 and the vote for a new president on December 28.
Somalia's polls have been delayed and diminished. The original promise of a one-person, one-vote national election was abandoned in 2015 due to insecurity, political infighting and lack of basic requirements such as an electoral roll. Instead an electoral college system has been instituted whereby 135 traditional clan elders chose 14,025 delegates who are voting for each of the 275 parliamentary seats, distributed according to clan.