Mogadishu (AX) — Hirshabelle Vice President Yusuf Hagar Dabageed has said elections in Hiiraan cannot proceed until political leaders and local stakeholders reach a broad agreement.
Addressing Hawadle elders and politicians in Mogadishu on Friday, Dabageed said Hirshabelle’s electoral process must involve political figures, traditional leaders, civil society organizations and other relevant groups.
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He said no election could be conducted “even in a single village” in Hiiraan without a mutually accepted agreement.
“The current electoral process in Hirshabelle could not continue in its present form and that anyone attempting to hold elections without a political settlement would bear responsibility for the consequences,” he said.
His warning comes as tensions grow over the leadership transition in Hirshabelle and the Hawadle community’s expected role in the region’s coming election.
Dabageed has accused Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of abandoning an alleged commitment to hand the Hirshabelle leadership to the Hawadle clan in the next election. The state’s current president, Ali Abdullahi Hussein Gudlawe, belongs to the Abgaal community.
Earlier this month, the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission issued a revised timetable for simultaneous local council and House of Representatives elections in Hirshabelle, scheduling the vote for Sept. 30, 2026.
The commission said the new timetable supersedes an earlier schedule released on July 25, which had set election day for Aug. 20.
Under the updated plan, the registration committee is due to begin its work, while voter cards are scheduled for distribution on Sept. 16.
Candidate lists for the House of Representatives and district councils are slated for submission and verification on Sept. 17.
Authorities expect to publish the final voter register on Sept. 19, ahead of polling on Sept. 30.
