This archive report was first published on 7 September 2019.
On August 22, Jubbaland state President Sheikh Ahmed Islam Madobe was re-elected with 56 out of 74 votes cast by MPs. However, his victory has been met with a court challenge.
Abdallah Ahmed Ibrahim, one of the aspirants who was barred from contesting, has filed a petition against Sheikh Madobe, citing three grounds for the challenge.
The grounds include the alleged unconstitutional composition of the Jubbaland Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (JIEBC), stringent conditions that barred other candidates from contesting, and open intimidation of other aspirants by the incumbent.
According to the petition, Sheikh Madobe handpicked the seven members of the JIEBC, flouting Article 93 (4) of the Jubbaland constitution, which requires members proposed by the line ministry and approved by the State Assembly.
“The same procedure was flouted and instead it was the president who made such appointments and sought to legitimise his appointments by forwarding the said candidates to the State Assembly for approval,” said Mr Ibrahim in his petition.
The petition also alleges that the JIEBC imposed stringent conditions on aspirants, including a $30,000 registration fee, which had no legal basis. Only six candidates met the conditions to compete against Sheikh Madobe.
