JSP Wins Landslide in Galmudug Local Council Repeat Election

DHUSAMAREEB — The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) has announced the results of the Galmudug local council repeat election, with the Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP) securing a dominant majority of seats.

The results, released in an official NIEBC statement, show that 149,475 voters cast ballots across 11 districts, with 146,894 valid votes and 2,581 rejected votes. A total of 243 council seats were contested by 12 political organisations.

JSP Wins 179 Seats

The JSP, the party associated with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, won 105,716 votes and secured 179 of the 243 council seats, representing approximately 74 percent of the total. This is a significantly larger share than the party achieved in the annulled July 30 election, when it won 63 council seats.

Karaama finished second with 10,239 votes and 21 seats. Sincad followed with 14,305 votes but only 17 seats, reflecting the distribution formula used to allocate seats. Madalsan won 4,945 votes and 10 seats, while Ramaas secured 3,059 votes and 6 seats.

Other parties that won seats include Dhalinyarada Talo Qaran with 4 seats, Cadalaadda iyo Midnimadda Tiir with 2 seats, and Muwaadiniinta Soomaaliyeed, Dimuqaadiga Soomaaliyeed, Saab, and Dan Shacab with 1 seat each. The Dadka Soomaaliyeed party received 228 votes but won no seats.

Background to the Repeat Election

The repeat election was ordered after Somalia’s Supreme Court annulled the results of the July 30 vote on August 24, 2026, citing irregularities that violated constitutional principles requiring free, fair and impartial elections, as reported in FTL Somalia’s coverage of the court ruling.

The original election had been challenged by the Towfiiq Party, which alleged violence, exclusion of party representatives from polling stations, and manipulation of the process. However, Towfiiq was excluded from the list of 12 organisations authorised to participate in the rerun, a decision the party has opposed. As detailed in FTL Somalia’s coverage of the exclusion, Towfiiq described the decision as linked to its legal challenge and called for peaceful demonstrations.

Critical Note

The NIEBC’s results confirm what was widely anticipated: the JSP has consolidated its dominance in Galmudug’s local councils. The party’s 179 seats represent a substantial increase from its performance in the annulled July election, reflecting both the exclusion of the Towfiiq Party and the advantage of incumbency and federal backing.

The scale of the JSP’s victory raises questions about the competitiveness of the electoral process. While the party’s vote share of 72 percent of valid votes is substantial, the fact that it was the only major party with federal government support, and that its strongest challenger was excluded from the ballot, means the outcome was determined as much by political conditions as by voter preference. That does not make the result illegitimate, but it does mean the election should be understood as a consolidation of existing power rather than a genuinely open contest.

The exclusion of the Towfiiq Party remains the most significant controversy surrounding this election. Towfiiq successfully challenged the previous election in court and was instrumental in securing the court order for a rerun. Its subsequent exclusion from the rerun it helped to bring about is a development that will not be lost on observers. The NIEBC has stated that Towfiiq failed to submit its candidate list by the September 12 deadline, but the party disputes this account.

For Galmudug, the results give the JSP a dominant position in local government. Whether that translates into effective governance and service delivery remains to be seen. The challenges facing the state, including security threats from Al-Shabaab, humanitarian pressures, and the need to rebuild infrastructure, are substantial. The JSP now has the mandate and the seats to address them. It also has the responsibility.