The spread of COVID-19 on the continent, and the planned measures to contain the virus have both constitutional and technical implications for the timing and administration of the elections in Somalia in an exceptionally complex environment. The NIEC has issued work-from-home orders to its staff. The Government has closed the country’s airspace both internally and externally. While most of Integrated Electoral Support Group’s (IESG) staff are working from home, including national staff, IESG continues to communicate internally and to provide daily technical support to NIEC staff across the broad spectrum of electoral activities, using the communications tools such as WebEx, Zoom and Microsoft teams.

The project is currently focused on the following:
• support to NIEC meetings with Joint Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on the Electoral Law; support NIEC to prepare its operational plan to present to the Parliament before end of May (according to the Electoral Law);
• review of NIEC Corporate Governance Framework in order to institutionalise Corporate Governance in the operations of the NIEC;