This archive report was first published on 21 September 2019.
Published on September 21, 2019, a row between Somalia's President Mohamed Farmaajo and his predecessor Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has reignited over the future of Galmudug state.
The dispute centers on whether the federal government should control impending elections in Galmudug, one of the five federal states in Somalia. President Farmaajo's government has endorsed a proposal for the federal government to form a technical committee to oversee the creation of the regional administration, including creating regulations and procedures for elections of representatives and the new president.
However, former President Mohamud's Union for Peace and Development Party (UPD) argued that the move contradicts the law and does not allow local residents to determine their future. 'The statement clearly contravenes the federal system in the country, the provisional constitution and the Galmudug constitution, both of which make it clear that the Galmudug State shall independently lead its own regional elections,' said UPD in a joint statement issued with Wadajir, Ilays, National Progress Party, and Nabadda parties.
Based on an earlier political calendar, Galmudug should have held elections in July this year. However, political factions disagree on when the four-year term of the current leadership actually began. Galmudug President Ahmed Duale Gelle 'Haaf' insists that elections should be held in December 2021 because in December 2017, he signed a power-sharing arrangement with moderate militia group Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a, essentially starting a new term in office.
Observers now say the actual idea of having stakeholders meet for talks is promising. However, the suggestion that the Federal Interior Ministry should create guidelines for Galmudug elections is controversial. 'Constitutionally, such is reserved for the federal member states. Already some groups are raising eye brows and developing reservations,' Abdimalik Abdullahi, a Somali Political Scientist and Researcher said.
Politically, Galmudug is cosmopolitan with diverse backgrounds, making it almost difficult to win without coalescing between the 11 clans. Since March this year, the region has technically been run by the federal government, weakening the incumbent whose opponents claim has already run past his term.
