Political and military activities are underway in the city of Beledweyne in opposition to holding any elections related to the Hirshabelle Regional State within the Hiiraan region.
Some politicians, elders, and prominent figures from the region are organizing local forces and making preparations to establish an administration independent of Hirshabelle.
These local forces are intended to support the process of establishing the new administration proposed for the region.
Reports indicate that the recruitment of local forces is also taking place in parts of the region’s east to oppose the upcoming Hirshabelle election, which is backed by the Federal Government.
The National Electoral Commission plans to hold a “one-person, one-vote” election in the region on the 30th of this month, allowing the public to elect parliamentary representatives and local council members for Hirshabelle’s districts.
The region’s highly volatile political tension could hinder the holding of a safe and stable election in the districts where voting was previously announced.
A rift has developed between the Federal Government and the region’s political and traditional leadership after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud endorsed the candidacy of the Hirshabelle President, Ali Abdullahi Hussein (Ali Guudlaawe). On the 13th of this month, the JSP political organization led by President Hassan Sheikh officially selected Ali Gudlawe as its candidate for the Hirshabelle presidential election.
Hirshabelle Vice President Yusuf Ahmed Hagar (Yusuf Dabageed) had previously stated that no election concerning Hirshabelle could be held in the Hiran region without a political resolution to the ongoing dispute.
There are fears that the political conflict could escalate into violence, thereby impacting national security, particularly within that region.
This dispute appears to place the leadership of the National Army in a precarious position; Villa Somalia is pressuring the military to assist in securing the elections scheduled for the region’s districts—even if it means redeploying troops from the capital, Mogadishu.
The Commander of the National Army, General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud, is wary of the security implications and is reluctant to have local army troops and the *Macawiisley*—who support the fight against Al-Shabaab—abandon the battlefronts. This dispute—which has created a rift between the people of Hiran and the allied Federal Government and Hirshabelle administration—endangers the unity and cohesion of the forces and provides an opportunity for terrorist groups to regain strength, particularly as the region is the epicenter of the local uprising (Macawiisley) against Al-Shabaab.
