Wadajir Party leader condemns federal appointment of Southwest interim leader

Thursday April 2, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somali opposition figure and federal lawmaker Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame has sharply denounced the federal government’s move to install an interim leader in Southwest State, calling it unconstitutional and a direct danger to Somalia’s already fragile federal arrangement.

In a statement released Thursday, Warsame, who leads the Wadajir Party, said the decision to name Second Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid as interim head of the Southwest administration runs counter to both the Federal Constitution and the Southwest State Constitution.

“It is a flagrant and unlawful violation of both the Federal Constitution and the Constitution of Southwest State for the federal government to appoint an administration for a federal member state that already has established constitutional institutions,” Warsame said.

He said the Southwest Constitution makes clear that if a president resigns, a new election must be held within 30 days. “There is absolutely no legal basis for the Federal Government to assume control or administer the state,” he added.

Warsame said the appointment reflects a worrying push toward centralized authority that could weaken Somalia’s federal system and undermine the rule of law. He accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration of advancing a political agenda designed to prolong its influence and shape the country’s electoral outcome.

“This marks the early stages of a deliberate effort to concentrate power, dismantle the federal system, and subordinate the rule of law to personal will,” Warsame said, warning that such steps could damage public confidence and further unsettle the political climate.

He also argued that Somalia’s collapse in 1991 was fueled in part by authoritarian behavior, including exclusion, abuse of power and the misuse of public resources, and cautioned leaders against repeating those errors.

The remarks came after Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre issued a decree Wednesday naming Jibril Abdirashid interim leader of Southwest State. The federal government said the appointment was meant to maintain continuity, restore governance and oversee preparations for Somalia’s planned one-person, one-vote elections following recent turmoil in Baidoa.

Federal forces recently seized control of Baidoa, the administrative capital of Southwest State, leading to the resignation of regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen and setting off a swift political transition. The federal government has said its intervention is aimed at stabilizing the region and pushing forward democratic reforms.

Warsame, whose Wadajir Party sits within the opposition camp, has also rejected the recent approval of constitutional amendments, aligning himself with opposition groups that continue to back the provisional constitution and ground their criticism in its provisions.