The National Electoral Bill is currently under parliamentary review. Once approved, the law will be the foundation for one-person-one-vote (OPOV) national elections scheduled to take place in Somalia in late 2020 and early 2021. The bill consists of 7 chapters and 61 articles and discusses issues of electoral design, management processes, voter registration, candidate eligibility, regulations for election campaigning, voting processes and vote counting, among others. This governance brief critically reviews technical issues of election design contained in the bill, including voter registration, seat allocation, announcement of election results, dispute resolution mechanisms, independence of NIEC, and election observation. It also makes broader comment on the framework for democratic governance in Somalia (election of the President, election of the Upper House, and election delays) and puts forward options for policy consideration.

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