MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – The Jubbaland State of Somalia has become the second federal member state to walka away from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s proposal for aligning federal and regional elections and the promise of holding a one-person, one-vote electoral system.
On Tuesday, the regional parliament voted to remove the presidential term limits, marking a significant political shift.
President Ahmed Madobe, who has been in power since Jubbaland’s establishment in 2013 and has extended his term multiple times, stands to benefit from this change. The 68 lawmakers of the regional assembly in Kismayo voted to amend six articles of the regional constitution, thereby removing the presidential term limit and allowing Madobe to run for office indefinitely.
“Today, the Jubbaland parliament gathered. Sixty-eight MPs were in attendance, and they have unanimously voted for the change of six articles that would affect education, health, the system of government, the parliament, and the regional elections,” said Shukri Wayrax Kaariye, chairman of the parliamentary procedural committee overseeing the constitutional change.
Kaariye emphasized the regional parliament’s right to amend the constitution and noted that they had conducted consultations with stakeholders, including civil society groups.
He described the new governance model as a hybrid system, with the president holding absolute power to appoint cabinet members, governors, district administrators, and key security positions.
The president will serve a five-year term with no limit on re-elections, and only the regional assembly members, chosen by clan elders, can elect the president.
No surprise move
Kismayo, the interim seat of the region, remains under threat from the terror group al-Shabaab, with Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, under the African Union mission, stationed there to counter the militant group’s frequent attacks.
The move to alter Jubbaland’s constitution is seen by many local analysts as expected, especially after similar changes were made by Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a controversial parliamentary vote in March.
The one-person, one-vote proposal, which has not been realized in Somalia since 1967, was a key justification for Mohamud’s changes.
However, opposition politicians and regional states like Puntland opposed that move and described it as an attempt to extend president’s term, leading to Puntland’s withdrawal from the federal government.
“If anything, Jubbaland’s move is a death knell for Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s proposal for a one-person, one-vote election because the Jubbaland parliament has now greenlighted holding its own indirect election,” said Mogadishu-based political analyst Ahmed Mohamud.
In May, the National Consultative Council (NCC), comprising the federal president and regional states (excluding Puntland), agreed to hold a one-person, one-vote election without providing a concrete timeframe.
The federal president’s term will end in May 2026, while the terms of Jubbaland, Southwest, Galmudug, and Hirshabelle expired last year. Puntland held its own separate election in January 2024.