Tuesday August 4, 2026
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Tuesday night with Hawadle traditional leader Ugas Yusuf Ugas Hassan Ugas Khalif and senior politicians to discuss the next leadership of Hirshabelle State.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, President Hassan Sheikh last week asked Hawadle leaders to agree on a single candidate from their community to contest the upcoming Hirshabelle presidential election.
The meeting at the presidential palace followed several rounds of consultations between the president and Hawadle leaders over the succession in Hirshabelle.
The agreement is part of a broader political understanding that the next president of Hirshabelle will come from the Hawadle community, while the outgoing president, Ali Abdullahi Hussein Guudlaawe, is from the Abgaal community.
The arrangement reflects the power-sharing formula that has shaped Hirshabelle politics since the state was established, with political leaders seeking to maintain clan balance in the selection of the regional leadership.
Guudlaawe, who was elected Hirshabelle's third president in November 2020 after securing 86 of 99 votes in the regional assembly in Jowhar, has not publicly commented on the reported agreement.
It remains unclear who will ultimately receive the endorsement of the ruling Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP), led by President Hassan Sheikh, ahead of the Hirshabelle presidential election.
JSP has strengthened its political position in recent months after consolidating control of Southwest State and winning a commanding victory in Galmudug's first one-person, one-vote local elections. Political observers expect the party to play a decisive role in determining Hirshabelle's next leadership as Somalia's federal political landscape continues to evolve.
Neither the presidency nor Hawadle leaders had issued an official statement on the outcome of Tuesday's meeting.
