Guudlaawe Urges Hirshabelle Voters to Cast Ballots as Polls Open

JOWHAR — Hirshabelle State leader candidate Ali Guudlaawe Hussein has called on voters to cast their ballots for whoever they believe best serves their interests, as polling continues across the state for the Hirshabelle House of Representatives and local councils.

Guudlaawe described today as a historic day for Hirshabelle and for Somalia, said voting was proceeding peacefully across the state, and asked people at polling stations to give way to the elderly and the vulnerable. He congratulated the people of Hirshabelle and said he hoped the vote would conclude in peace.

Guudlaawe cast his own vote in Jowhar, the administrative capital, alongside the Speaker of the Hirshabelle House of Representatives and other officials, as crowds of citizens lined up at polling stations across the state.

Curfew Enforced Across Polling Areas

Hirshabelle Police Commander Hassan Dhicisow Hasan announced a curfew across all designated voting zones, including the regional administrative capital and other participating districts. The curfew took effect today and will remain active until midnight, with all vehicular traffic strictly prohibited. Citizens intending to cast their ballots, arrivals from rural areas travelling toward polling stations, and individuals engaged in election management duties are permitted to move on foot.

Police authorities justified the measure as necessary to reinforce security at polling stations, minimise public gatherings and extraneous movements, and ensure the electoral process proceeds in an orderly manner. However, the curfew may impact the daily livelihoods of residents, particularly individuals whose subsistence relies on daily transport activity and local markets.

Critical Note

Guudlaawe’s appeal for a peaceful vote and his call on voters to support whoever they believe best serves their interests stands in contrast to the politically charged environment in which this election is taking place. The Hirshabelle vote is not a routine exercise in democracy. It is unfolding amid a serious political dispute over power-sharing, representation, and the credibility of the electoral process itself.

Large sections of the Hawadle community in Hiiraan have rejected the election as illegitimate, arguing that no vote should proceed without a prior political agreement. As reported in FTL Somalia’s coverage of the electoral dispute, armed Macawiisley fighters seized voter registration centres in Beledweyne earlier this month, and traditional elders have barred Hirshabelle officials from landing at airports in the region. The JSP’s decision to nominate Guudlaawe for a second term, backed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has intensified those tensions, as detailed in FTL Somalia’s coverage of the JSP nomination.

The curfew imposed across polling areas is a security measure, but it also restricts movement and commercial activity in a region where many residents depend on daily markets and transport for their livelihoods. The election may proceed, but its legitimacy will depend not on the number of ballots cast, but on whether the outcome is accepted by the communities it is meant to represent. In Hirshabelle, that acceptance appears far from guaranteed.