How is a war-torn country, one which has been incessantly at war for more than ten years, able to hold elections? Syria, previously a devastated war zone where millions were killed, displaced, or silenced, has held parliamentary elections, a political move many believed could not be achieved in a country long drenched in war and devastation. This eye-catching gesture introduces the question, How did Syria wind up here, and what does the bumpy but hopeful journey of Syria’s electoral transition have to say to the Horn of Africa? Insurgency-plagued nations like Somalia and a war-torn nation like Sudan can guide the vulnerable path from bullets to ballots. The Horn of Africa is poised to experience its own political turning point, where war after peace is not a mirage but a plausible reality.

Syria’s story is one of unimaginable human suffering and geostrategic muddle. Cities in ruins, families separated, and external forces dictating the stage for years. Yet, when the iron fist of the Assad regime was broken, Syria took a flawed step towards political rebuilding by conducting parliamentary elections in 2025. Though these were marred by uneven turnout and a one-person-one-vote system with one-third of the parliament being appointed rather than elected, Several key regions, including the Kurdish majority northeast and Sweida province in the south, were boycotted or left out. Millions of Syrian refugees abroad and internally displaced Syrians couldn’t vote. While massive conflict has reduced, armed groups continue to maintain sway in much of the country, and local militia pressures, said to have influenced voting results, are still representative of a nation that is seeking to redefine its own future, free from war.

How did Syria wind up here, and what does the bumpy but promising journey of Syria’s electoral transition have to say to the Horn of Africa? Countries like Somalia, with elections imminent, are being presented with extraordinary challenges to turn issues into democratic processes. Yet, cases like Somaliland’s non-violent transfer of power show that peaceful transition to elections, although not the norm, is possible in specific areas of the Horn. Syria’s tentative electoral leap is a reminder to the region that it can pass beyond the era of gun and conflict, but that the transition to meaningful democracy is long and requires practical leadership, participatory politics, and perseverance.

However, Syria’s new politics remain tenuous. Most of the nation is still beyond the electoral umbrella in which many women and minorities continue to be underrepresented, and questions persist about how genuinely pluralistic and representative the elections are. This imperfect reality should not be lost on the Horn of Africa. Elections are not silver bullets; rather, they are only the starting point of a longer, difficult process of inclusive politics and peacebuilding. The societies and leaders of the Horn must learn from the Syrian case that elections themselves will not heal cleavages or deliver long-term stability. They must be accompanied by trust-building, political reforms, and inclusive politics with all societies, including the previously marginalized or insurgent ones. The upcoming Somali elections will be a critical test.

Are the patterns of violence and rivalry within the Horn’s nations reversible? Will forces of insurgency adopt political engagement instead of fighting? Can elections seal cleavages rather than open them? The hopes created by Syria’s elections mean that these questions, once thought impossible to transcend, are now urgent possibilities. External financial and diplomatic assistance, as well as strong internal commitments, are needed to support such fragile democratic experiments. The moment also requires reflection on regional integration in the Horn of Africa. The political normalization of Syria is a hopeful inspiration that divided societies can aspire to be one again, as they once were.

The peace hopes of the Horn are based on turning adversaries into friends, moving beyond wounds, and enriching governance processes that resonate with social reality. Political integration through shared institutions, economic cooperation, or conflict resolution mechanisms remains critical to securing peace beyond political cycles. Ultimately, the query that haunts every war-torn nation is whether, in fact, there can be peace after war.

Syria’s elections, coming at a moment of continued challenges but standing as a clear departure from years of violence, force the Horn of Africa to envision a different path. Imperfect though it may be, Syria’s experiment with elections demonstrates that even war-torn countries can plant seeds of political regrowth. For the Horn, this is not only a perfect lesson, rather it is a call to courage, an invitation to peer over the gun stage and believe in ballots again. May this be the awakening moment for the Horn of Africa? May insurgency and rivalry give way to peaceful ballots and political participation? The answers are not so much in the choices made in countries but in the people of the region’s shared will to demand change over war.

The way ahead is beset with obstacles, but Syria’s tentative steps offer a blueprint that miracles are possible not in a day, but with persistent and inclusive political effort. Finally, Syria’s leap from the ashes of war to the ballot box is a testament to society’s power to revive hope from deterioration. The Horn of Africa countries have some kind of same path. It can be a nation held forever hostage to cycles of bloodshed, or it can have the possibility that, after the guns are stilled and insurgency taken out, democracy and unity may ensue. The outlook is unknown, but Syria’s improbable election informs us that impossibilities do happen and can. It urges the Horn to turn to the future where the ballot takes the place of the bullet, and nations long traumatized by war can finally embark on a fresh path of democracy and reconciliation.

By Rebecca Mulugeta, Researcher, Horn Review