Somalia’s President Launches New Party Ahead of Landmark Elections
In a significant development that could reshape Somalia’s political landscape, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has unveiled a new political party, the Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP), ahead of the country’s first one-person, one-vote elections in over five decades. The party brings together former adversaries from federal and regional powerhouses, some of whom have spent years clashing over control and undermining each other’s authority.
According to a report by AllAfrica, the JSP was launched on Tuesday evening in Mogadishu, uniting sworn political adversaries in a party that many are calling the most formidable political force Somalia has seen in the post-civil war era. President Hassan declared at the launch, as quoted by AllAfrica, "This country cannot afford to tear itself apart every five years. We need continuity, cohesion, and institutions that survive beyond individuals."
The party’s inner circle includes some of Somalia’s most influential politicians and former enemies. In Galmudug, federal MP Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein (Odowaa), regional President Ahmed Abdi Karie (Qoorqoor), and ex-NISA boss Mahad Mohamed Salad – once locked in a bruising contest for control of the state – are now party colleagues. Odowaa serves as Secretary General. In the Southwest, Speaker Sheikh Adan Madobe and President Abdiaziz Laftagareen – longtime rivals for influence in federal affairs – now share the same political platform.
Dr. Abdinasir Mohamed, a political scientist at Mogadishu University, told AllAfrica that the JSP "isn’t just a party – it’s a strategic political machine." He added, "It reflects a rare moment of political maturity where personal grudges are being set aside for broader national alignment."
The formation of the JSP comes as Somalia prepares for its first nationwide direct vote since 1969 – a landmark moment in a country long mired in clan-based electoral bargaining. By uniting figures who once operated as power centres unto themselves, President Mohamud appears to be betting on a new political formula: one that merges loyalty, reconciliation, and national appeal into a singular campaign vehicle.
Fadumo Warsame of the Hiraal Institute told AllAfrica that while opposition groups remain scattered and reactive, the president is building a disciplined political infrastructure ahead of the 2026 showdown. "It puts the opposition on notice," she said. Dr. Osman Ahmed, a Nairobi-based Horn of Africa analyst, added, as quoted by AllAfrica, "He’s taken his fiercest critics, turned them into allies, and given them a stake in the same future. This party could dominate the upcoming polls – if it holds."
Somalia has faced significant challenges since the fall of Siad Barre in 1991, including civil war, warlordism, and fragile transitional governments. The current federal system emerged in 2000, relying on a clan-based "4.5 formula" that allocates power among Somalia’s major clans and minorities – but has long been criticized for entrenching division and hindering democracy. The transition to one-person, one-vote elections, targeted for 2026, is seen as a historic step forward – but remains fraught with challenges.
With the emergence of the JSP, President Hassan Sheikh may have pulled off a rare political masterstroke – uniting fractured elites just in time for Somalia’s biggest democratic test in generations. As AllAfrica reports, the JSP could dominate the upcoming polls, marking a significant shift in Somalia’s political landscape.
