Villa Somalia Faces Setbacks as Jubaland Rejects Concurrent Election Proposal

[Deeq A.]

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud proposed one person, one vote elections two years before the end of his mandate.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — The collapse of the National Consultative Council summit in Mogadishu yesterday places Somalia on the path to a deadlock over the electoral model ahead of the 2026 presidential elections. Unlike his predecessor, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud proposed one person, one vote elections two years before the end of his mandate. However, this plan encountered an unexpected setback when the President of Jubaland State, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, rejected Villa Somalia’s proposal to hold national and federal state presidential elections concurrently.

Villa Somalia’s proposal clashes with the electoral schedules of Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and South West State. President Ahmed cited Puntland’s electoral independence to prevent the Federal Government of Somalia from interfering in Jubaland’s electoral process. With the bicameral legislature already under the control of the executive, it would have been a serious setback for state-building efforts in Somalia had President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud succeeded with his proposal.

President Ahmed cited Puntland’s electoral independence to prevent the Federal Government of Somalia from interfering in Jubaland’s electoral process.

As the plan to amend the draft federal constitution stalls, the federal leaders must return to the drawing board and make the necessary concessions to build consensus, as emphasised by UNSOM Chief James Swan in his address to the United Nations Security Council.

Mid-term fatigue is already taking a toll on the aspirations of the incumbent federal President. In a joint letter, former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire and former Presidential Candidate Abdirahman Abdishakur condemned what they described as an attempt by Villa Somalia to extend the presidential term. They accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of causing the summit’s collapse.

Earlier today, Jubaland’s President Ahmed Mohamed Islam returned to Kismaayo. His rejection of Villa Somalia proposal won unexpected praise from Puntland’s Interior Minister, Abdi Farah ‘Juha,’ who hailed the Jubaland leader as the defender of “the constitutional order.”

Much political power now rests with the Federal Member States, particularly Galmudug, South West State and Jubaland, whose leaders may now have a second opportunity to prepare Somalia for indirect elections similar to those held in 2022. The proposed one person, one vote elections seem to have been thwarted by the consolidated political power of the current occupant of Villa Somalia.

© Puntland Post, 2024

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