Somalia elects first female deputy speaker

Ms Saadia Yasin Haji Samatar has made a rare history as the Members of Somalia’s House of the People (Lower House of the bicameral parliament) on Thursday elected her as its first deputy speaker.

Even though Somalia’s political landscape is a largely patriarchal by design, Ms Samatar becomes the first woman to be elected to the top leadership in parliament.

In the last round of voting, Ms Samatar was able to amass 137 votes, beating Mr Mohamed Ali Omar alias Ananug who got 107.

The State House in Mogadishu has issued a statement with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo congratulating her for her achievement.

Similarly, Ms Batula Ahmed Gaballe, the chairperson of the influential Somali Women Association, welcomed the election of Ms Samatar.

“The election of Ms Samatar to co-lead the Somali parliament is the first step towards greater female participation in decision-making at national level,” she said.

In a joint statement, Somalia’s international backers welcomed the election of Somalia’s parliamentary leadership.
“(We) welcome the successful elections for leadership positions in the Upper House on 26 April 2022 and the House of the People on 27-28 April 2022,” they said. “We congratulate the newly elected Speakers and Deputy Speakers as they assume their important responsibilities at this critical moment for Somalia.”

The International Partners that signed the statement are the new African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, European Union (EU), Finland, France, Germany, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Ireland, Italy, Kenya, League of Arab States (LAS), Norway, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and United Nations.

With attention now shifting to the presidential election, whose date is yet to be announced, the presidential poll is said to be tough as incumbent President Farmaajo is expected to be challenged by strong candidates from the Coalition of the (opposition) Presidential Candidates that include former presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, as well as ex-Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni and other former ministers.