SHARECountry Data
Somalia (Somalia) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house. 54 of 274 (20%) seats in the Golaha Shacabka / House of the People are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? No
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jan 16, 2023
Single/Lower House
Golaha Shacabka / House of the People
| Total seats | 274 |
| Total Women | 54 |
| % Women | 20% |
| Election Year | 2022 |
| Electoral System | No direct elections |
| Quota Type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution | Garowe Principles I (2011) and Garowe Principles II (2012) are the 2 documents which outline the key constitutional and governance principles for the future set-up of Somalia as a federal state. The documents provide for 30% reserved seats for women in the parliament sworn-in in August 2012. |
| Electoral law | When the parties are selecting the candidates to participate in the elections, they must respect the quota of women which is at least 30% of the candidate members of each party. The JFS Parliament is issuing a law on the most appropriate process to ensure the women's quota mentioned in this clause (Article 23.4 Parties Participating in Elections, Electoral Law). [Unofficial translation] |
|
| Political funding legislation | Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of the Article 24 of this Law, a political party shall not be entitled to receive funding from the fund if: More than two-thirds (2/3) of its registered party leaders and staff are of the same gender, same clan or hail from the same region of the country (Art. 23.2.b, Political Parties Law, NIEC). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | N/A | Not applicable |
| Rank order/placement rules | N/A | Not applicable |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No data available | |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No data available |
Upper House
Aqalka Sare / Upper House
| Total seats | 54 |
| Total Women | 14 |
| % Women | 26% |
| Election Year | 2021 |
| Electoral System | |
| Quota Type | No legislated> |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: No legislated | Electoral law | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No data available | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qaransoor Party | Xisbiga Qaransoor | [Women] shall have a quota of 35% of the staff and functionaries of the party and the councils (Article 42(4) of the Party Statute). |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
During the initial stage of Somalia’s transitional government, Article 29 of the 2004 Transitional Federal Charter provided a quota of 12 per cent reserved seats in the Transitional Federal Parliament. However, the Transitional Federal Parliament which functioned between 2004 and 2009 (and which was later extended by three years,until July 2012) did not include the corresponding number of female parliamentarians. The number of female parliamentarians initially stood at 7 per cent of the seats, a proportion which later dropped to 5 per cent.
During the next stage, the two documents entitled Garowe Principles I (2011) and Garowe Principles II (2012), which outline the key constitutional and governance principles for the future set-up of Somalia as a federal state, and which were signed by all main stakeholders in the country, committed to securing 30 per cent reserved seats for women as members of the National Constituent Assembly (2012) and the parliament (sworn in in August 2012).
In the aftermath, women formed 25 per cent of the total members of the National Constituent Assembly, which approved the new Federal Provisional Constitution of Somalia. However, the text of the Constitution itself did not include any legal provisions guaranteeing the 30 per cent reserved seats for women in the next parliament.
Eventually, the Federal Parliament of Somalia, in particular its lower house, inaugurated in August 2012, and composed of 275 representatives of the four largest clans in the country as well as some smaller ones,included only 14 per cent female parliamentarians. Candidates for parliamentary seats in the 2012 Federal Parliament of Somalia were nominated by the country’s major clans and vetted by the Technical Selection Committee in compliance with the criteria outlined in the Constitution.
The failure to meet the stated commitments on the 30 per cent reserved seats for women in the 2012 Federal Parliament is largely due to the lack of agreement among the clans which govern the country.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic, 2004, [Last accessed: 2022-01-13]
- National Elections Law at the Federal Level (Somali)
- Somalia's Constitution of 2012 (English)
OTHER SOURCES:
- ‘Somali National Consultative Constitutional Conference, 21–23 December 2011, Garowe, Puntland, Somalia’, [Last accessed: 2022-01-13]
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Somalia on iKNOW Politics
- UN Security Council. (September 28, 2021). Realizing women's 30 per cent quota, political participation in Somalia 'a Game Change' for sustainable peace, Deputy Secretary-General tells Security Council.
- UN. (September 12, 2021). In Somalia, Deputy UN chief encourages progress on women's political participation, and peaceful elections.
- Horst, C. (2017). Implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda? Somali debates on women’s public roles and political participation. Journal of Eastern African Studies 11(3), pp. 389–407.
- Horst, C. & Doeland, E. (2016). Introducing a Women’s Empowerment Agenda from Abroad? Gender and Stability in Somalia, PRIO Policy Brief, 13. Oslo: PRIO.
- Lorentzen, J., Tryggestad, T., & Hansen, J. (2015). Somali Women’s Civic Engagement: Past, Present and Future. PRIO Gender, Peace and Security Update, 2015: PRIO.