A meeting between Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member States (FMS) leaders in Mogadishu decided to allocate parliamentary seats based on the clan-based power-sharing formula.
For years, elections in the East African nation have revolved around the clan-based system.
Nevertheless, the political class in the country has made serious attempts to depart from such a system and embrace multiparty democracy. In the last year, there have been reports that the country would use a one-person-one-vote system in the upcoming elections.
However, that fell flat on its face when leaders negotiated an indirect system via delegates appointed at the constituency level to elect the new crop of leaders for parliament and local council posts.
The issue of allocation of seats had yet to be tackled.
On Wednesday, leaders met at Villa Somalia under the leadership of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and agreed that the 4.5 formula would suffice for allocating parliamentary seats.
Under such a system, the four major clans in the country receive equal seats in parliament.
The four major clans in Somalia are Dir, Isaaq, Darod, and Hawiye. Somalia has several other clans whose needs have also been catered for in the new arrangement agreed upon by the country’s leaders on October 1.