Somalia president signs Political Parties Bill into law

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. FILE PHOTO | AFP

Somalia has legitimised the operations of political parties for the first time in nearly five decades, ahead of this month’s election.

All politicians are now required to register with the political parties by October 2018 in readiness for competitive universal suffrage in 2020, when all citizens will have the right to vote on the basis of one person one vote.