Sunday June 7, 2026
Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission has started taking in candidates for the Southwest State presidential election, marking the formal launch of the region’s race for leadership.
One of the first to file was Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a former president of Southwest State, who was handed his certificate of candidacy by the commission.
Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe, speaker of the House of the People of Somalia’s Federal Parliament, also received his certificate of candidacy, officially joining the race.
The two figures are among the most high-profile contenders to have entered the contest so far.
Sharif Hassan had earlier been counted among politicians who criticized the federal government’s political course, but later came out in support of the one-person, one-vote electoral model. That change was widely seen as bringing him into line with the broader political shift being promoted by federal authorities.
The vote comes after the recent swearing-in of Southwest lawmakers and the selection of the regional parliament’s leadership. It also unfolds against a backdrop of rising political tension over the electoral process, federal involvement and Somalia’s push toward direct elections.
