Baidoa (Kaab TV) — Voters in Somalia’s Southwest State began casting ballots on Sunday in direct elections for the regional House of Representatives and district councils, marking a significant shift away from the country’s long-standing indirect electoral system.

Voting took place across 13 districts in the Bay, Bakool, and Lower Shabelle regions. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to participate, including 164,716 men and 211,496 women. The commission also reported that 4,781 registered voters were people with special needs.

Speaking to reporters in Baidoa, the chairman of the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Abdikariin Ahmed Hassan, formally announced the start of the unified elections.

The polls are intended to fill seats in the South West State House of Representatives and local councils, making this one of the most extensive direct voting exercises ever conducted at the regional level in Somalia.

For the House of Representatives, 394 candidates from 15 political organizations are contesting seats, including 322 men and 72 women.

For the local councils, 1,297 candidates from 18 political organizations are competing across the 13 districts. Among them are 1,022 men and 275 women.

Election officials said the coordinated rollout was designed to strengthen direct democratic governance at the local level, replacing earlier systems in which political representatives were often selected through indirect arrangements involving clan elders and political brokers.

However, the vote has drawn criticism from opposition groups. The Somali Future Council, one of the country’s main opposition alliances, boycotted the election, arguing that the process lacked consensus.

The opposition accused the federal government of manipulating the process and claimed that the results were predetermined. Federal and regional election officials have not publicly acknowledged those allegations and instead described the vote as part of Somalia’s broader transition toward direct elections.

The South West State election comes amid wider national disputes over Somalia’s electoral framework, constitutional amendments, and the future role of political parties. Those disagreements have deepened tensions between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government and opposition leaders, who accuse the administration of pushing through major political changes without sufficient consensus.