After the Ballot: What Democracy Must Mean for Somalia

Somali political life is intensely debated across towns, households, media platforms and diaspora communities. Yet this energy does not consistently produce the power to compel answers, reverse failed policies or remove officials whose conduct has become unacceptable. The distance between participation and political consequence remains one of Somalia’s central democratic problems. Direct local elections in Puntland and Mogadishu have provided recent precedents, and Somalia is again moving towards direct national elections. The framework for federal elections, however, has yet to be settled between the government and opposition. The debate should not stop at how votes will be cast. It must […] The post After the Ballot: What Democracy Must Mean for Somalia appeared first on African Arguments.