LAS ANOD (Dawan Africa) – Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali, widely known as Firdhiye, has been elected President of Somalia’s Northeastern State after defeating Abdirisaq Khalif Ahmed in the second round of voting held by the State Assembly on Saturday.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Aadan Abdullahi, announced the results, confirming that Firdhiye received 62 votes, while Abdirisaq Khalif secured 18 votes. Two ballots were declared invalid. A total of 82 lawmakers participated in the vote.
“The President of the Northeastern State of Somalia for the next five years is Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali Abdi,” said Aadan Abdullahi.
The contest began with five presidential candidates. In the first round, votes were distributed as follows: Rashid Farah Mahmoud – 4 votes; Abdirisaq Khalif Ahmed – 20 votes; Jamal Mohamed Hassan – 15 votes; Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali (Firdhiye) – 36 votes; and Mahmoud Yusuf Hassan – 8 votes. No candidate achieved an outright majority, triggering a runoff between the two frontrunners, Firdhiye and Abdirisaq Khalif.
In the second round, Firdhiye consolidated support across the Assembly, emerging with a clear margin of victory.
Following the presidential vote, the Assembly proceeded with the election of the Vice President. Five candidates had been registered: Omar Dahir Hassan, Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril (Abwaan), Abdirisaq Mohamed Jama, Abdulsatar Sheikh Osman Omar (Dhegacade), and Mohamed Abdi Bulale. However, according to Speaker Aadan Abdullahi, only Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril (Abwaan) participated in the session after the other contenders failed to attend. He was subsequently elected Vice President through a show of hands, receiving 65 votes.
The electoral process concluded with the swearing-in of both the President and Vice President, officially launching the new administration of Northeastern State. The election in Las Anod marks the final step in establishing the state’s leadership. The Federal Government of Somalia formally recognized Northeastern State earlier this year, making it one of the country’s federal member states.
Firdhiye previously served as the leader of SSC-Khaatumo, an administration that operated in the same territory for the past two years before it was later reconstituted and renamed Northeastern State of Somalia.
