This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
On July 31, 2019, Somalia-based Islamic insurgency Al-Shabab issued an order to traditional leaders to adopt a new dress code, further tightening its grip on the country's electoral process.
The Al-Qaeda affiliated group has been exerting significant influence over the election process, with elders and delegates being forced to register with the militia group within 45 days, according to Al-Andalus, a radio station run by the Al-Shabaab jihadists.
As of Sunday, 159 elders had complied with the order, which was issued a fortnight ago. The elders are reportedly from Hirshabelle, Galmudug, Jubaland, and Southwest states, while no elder from Puntland, the authority in northeastern Somalia, has responded to the jihadists' order.
Federal Somali government and state officials have repeatedly warned the hundreds of elders and delegates participating in the election process to disregard the orders, citing security concerns.
Under Somalia's electoral system, elders choose the members of the parliament who in turn elect the president. The Al-Shabaab militants are also compelling the elders and delegates under their custody to learn their version of 'Islamic studies', further complicating the situation.
Political commentator Hassan Mohamoud described the elders as being 'between the devil and the deep blue sea', caught between disobeying the Al-Shabaab orders and facing backlash from the government and state security institutions.
