Cracks widen in Somalia’s ruling party as president faces challenge from within
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s ruling party is showing visible signs of fracture just weeks before President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term is due to expire, deepening uncertainty around an already contentious one-year extension announced by the speaker of parliament – a move widely rejected by key political stakeholders. In recent weeks, divisions within the Justice and […]
Black News 
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s ruling party is showing visible signs of fracture just weeks before President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term is due to expire, deepening uncertainty around an already contentious one-year extension announced by the speaker of parliament – a move widely rejected by key political stakeholders.
In recent weeks, divisions within the Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP) have sharpened. The party’s deputy chairman, Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed Laftagaren – who also leads the Southwest regional administration – resigned alongside several officials from his state after tensions escalated with the federal leadership. The dispute centers on President Mohamud’s push to remove Laftagaren from office.
The split widened further days later when Abdirahman Odowa, the party’s secretary and a longtime ally of the president, told local media he intends to run for the presidency. Odowa has campaigned three times for Mohamud, twice successfully, making his decision to challenge him all the more striking.
His move underscores a growing rupture within the ruling party, where a figure once seen as firmly loyal is now positioning himself against the very leader he helped elevate – and from within the same political movement Mohamud built to secure another term.
For many analysts, the shift is anything but routine.
“Odowaa’s comments explicitly contradicts HSM’s one year extension and brings to the fore the simmering rift within the governing Dam ul Jadid, with some favouring a ‘new blood’ candidate to contest indirect polls, not the damaged HSM,” said Rashid Abdi, an analyst on the Horn of Africa with Nairobi-based Sahan Research.
The sense of internal strain deepened when Abdullahi Mohamed Ali (Sanbalolshe), a former intelligence chief and influential backer of the president, publicly broke with Mohamud’s current approach – particularly policies that are fueling tensions and violence in Southwest state.
He warned that the handling of the situation risks driving apart allies who once stood together, a remark widely interpreted as a sign the coalition could splinter if the current course is not reconsidered.
He later wrote on Facebook: “Rigidity and Politics without options will kill you?.”
Meanwhile, clashes involving federal government-aligned forces and Southwest regional troops have erupted on the outskirts of Baidoa in recent days, in what observers describe as the possible beginning of a long-anticipated confrontation between Mohamud and his former ally, Laftagaren.
At the heart of the dispute are plans by the president to remove Laftagaren and install a more loyal leader in his place. In response, the regional leader has moved to consolidate his authority, including preparations for elections under his administration.
On Sunday, the federal government said it would proceed with elections in the region and establish a new administration, arguing that Laftagaren is no longer governing with legitimacy and has exceeded his legal term. Critics, however, note that leaders in Galmudug and Hirshabelle remain in office under similar circumstances, raising questions about consistency in the federal government’s approach.
The standoff comes just days after Laftagaren rejected a newly introduced constitution approved by parliament – a document that has drawn strong opposition from multiple political stakeholders. He maintains that only the provisional constitution adopted in 2012 holds legal legitimacy, leaving the country’s political future increasingly uncertain as competing claims to authority collide.
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