Somalia Election Commission: Banadir Voter Registration Audit Underway

Somalia, October 26, 2025 —  The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) had announced that an independent audit of the voter registration in the Banadir region is ongoing.

According to the NIEBC Chairman, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, a company proposed by the three political parties (Samadoon, Dhulka Hooyo, and Xaqsoor) which have been at the forefront in pushing for transparency of the electoral process, has been contracted to undertake the audit. However, the three political parties have yet to publicly confirm the Chairman’s remarks.

Speaking on the Miizaan Podcast produced by Dawan Media, Chairman Abdikarim explained that the contracted company is actually the second choice. The first company, also proposed by the three associations, refused to sign the final contract due to a dispute over data ownership and the jurisdiction for settling contract disputes.

“Initially, we agreed on all terms, but when the contract was finalized, the company refused. They wanted to own the data and only share reports with the government, and they wanted disputes to be handled outside Somalia. We rejected that because, according to Somali law, electoral data is public property,” said Abidikarim, who spoke on Miizaan Podcast produced by Dawan Media.

He stressed that the Commission accepted the associations’ demands, including a company tthey proposed to conduct the audit.