Somalia: Lawmakers choose new speaker as electoral dispute deepens
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jaamac was elected speaker of Somalia’s House of the People on Monday, securing 142 votes in a closely watched and contentious parliamentary contest in the capital.
Acting Speaker Sadia Yasin Haji Samatar declared the result after the ballot. Nur defeated fellow contender Abdulkadir Omar Maalim, who won 30 votes from the 171 lawmakers who took part in the vote.
The election took place even though the parliament’s four-year mandate expired in April 2026. The House has continued to function in a caretaker role as Somalia remains embroiled in a wider dispute over the country’s electoral process.
Opposition figures also challenged the circumstances surrounding Nur’s parliamentary seat. They alleged that he had taken it from the former lawmaker through force and outside established legal procedures, claims that intensified concerns about the credibility and independence of the political process.
Nur’s campaign further attracted allegations that he had received backing from Villa Somalia, the state house, and Turkey. He succeeds Sheikh Adan Madobe, who vacated the speakership after becoming leader of Southwest State at gunpoint in early June of this year.
Before his election, Nur served as minister of ports and maritime transport, a post he had held since March 2025. He became speaker of the House today. Nur was born in Baidoa, Somalia, on Oct. 21, 1985.
AXADLETM
