A controversial regional election team established by Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe last week is set to unveil the procedures for choosing regional MPs on Tuesday. According to Caasimada Online, the team has already implemented minor adjustments to the 2019 selection process. 

Security in Kismayo, Jubaland’s interim capital, has been bolstered with the deployment of fresh troops around the airport and its environs. A planned visit by Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre was abruptly canceled after Jubaland authorities, who control the town’s only airfield, refused permission. 

On Tuesday, MPs from both Jubaland and Puntland in Somalia’s parliament declared unwavering support for Jubaland’s right to independently conduct its elections, reaffirming their solidarity with the regional state. 

Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe remains resolute in pursuing the indirect election process that secured him the presidency twice, where MPs chosen by a select group of elders elect the president. This method, which has previously allowed Madobe to win uncontested, is at odds with Somalia’s federal government, which is steadfast in rejecting anything but a one-person, one-vote election. Mogadishu is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to derail his plans.