Here’s a trivia question. Guess which Third World country will have more secure elections this year than the United States?
Well, if you guessed Somalia, you would be right, and your virtual grand prize would be a virtual bowl of bananas and rice, per Nasra Ahmed.
Somali Nasra Ahmed: "Being Somali is more than just eating bananas & rice, it's a lot, it’s interesting, it's kind of like bananas & rice. You can eat bananas and rice.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 23, 2026
My word. Quality Learing Center level education on full display.
pic.twitter.com/lvnAkVAF0E
According to the Nairobi-based Kulan Post from last September, Somalia president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that only people “with national identification cards will be recognized as citizens once the ongoing biometric ID program concludes.”
That biometric ID program has involved requiring citizens to register for a national ID card that Mohamud said will be “the cornerstone of Somali belonging.” He emphasized that “it is through identification that one becomes Somali, not through appearance or simply speaking the Somali language.”
Imagine that. A country that insists that not only people assimilate to become recognized as citizens, but one that won’t grant citizenship status without the ID.
Starting last July, Somali citizens are now required to present their national IDs to gain access to their bank accounts and for domestic flights, and now they need IDs to vote.
“Anyone who fails to register for the Somali ID within the set timelines shall not be considered a Somali citizen,” Mohamud added.
The Kulan Post said that this new ID system was launched “after over 30 years of operating without a centralized identity framework, (which) is seen as essential for enhancing national security.”
The Somali president went further to say that biometric IDs would more effectively counter what has been described as a “widespread issue of fraudulent passports.” In a country of 20 million people, nearly 10 million Somali passports are reportedly in circulation, with a large and unspecified number obtained illegally.
“From birth to every stage of life, the Somali identity card will be with you forever,” the president declared.
It’s easy to see why a Somali dictator would want an airtight system to track and identify his populace. That’s what dictators like best. And it’s why Americans aren’t so keen to support such a potentially oppressive program here in the United States. Anything that makes it easier to not only track you, but flip a switch and deny you services, can be a dangerous thing.
It’s also why we’re skeptical of things such as digital currencies and universal healthcare.
But still, even a country as backward as Somalia clearly appreciates the fact that a national identification program of sorts helps better ensure election results you can trust. There’s no uproar coming out of the African nation claiming voter disenfranchisement.
In December, residents of Somalia's capital Mogadishu voted in local council elections for the first time in more than 50 years — the first time in decades that they had the chance to democratically choose their representatives.
This TV report ran in advance of those elections.
Ilhan Omar claims voter ID laws are “voter suppression.”
— Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) February 6, 2026
Meanwhile, her home country of Somalia recently implemented a “one person, one vote” system.
That system requires a voter ID card. pic.twitter.com/EKsUm2mG1W
Against this backdrop, it’s hard to believe that in America there is even a debate over voter ID, when a more primitive country such as Somalia can look more sophisticated than ours. What’s there to even debate, once you get past the political smokescreen Democrats are using to try to kill the SAVE Act?
No need to relitigate all of that here, other than to say, when a country such as Somalia surpasses you on anything, it’s time to make changes.
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