By Mohamed Abdi - Reporter
Somalia, July 20 – Liban Ahmed Hassan, the Justice and Solidarity Party’s candidate to lead Somalia's Galmudug State, pledged to improve security, reconcile divided communities and intensify operations against Al-Shabaab if elected.
Speaking at a campaign event held in Dhusamareb on Sunday night, the Galmudug capital, Hassan said security would be a central priority of his administration, citing militant activity, intercommunal violence and roads made inaccessible by local conflicts.
Hassan said he aimed to force Al-Shabaab fighters to begin withdrawing from Galmudug within six months, although he did not provide details on how the target would be achieved. Somali government forces and community fighters have conducted repeated operations against the al Qaeda-linked group in central Somalia.
He also promised a broad reconciliation conference bringing together religious leaders, traditional elders and Galmudug communities at home and abroad. The initiative would seek to resolve clan disputes, reopen roads and prevent retaliatory killings, he said.
Hassan said his development programme would include completing Dhusamareb airport, supporting construction of Hobyo port, improving roads and encouraging members of the Galmudug diaspora to invest in businesses, factories and other job-creating projects.
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He also pledged a merit-based public administration, an independent judiciary and development spending distributed equally across Galmudug’s communities.
The election for Galmudug’s House of Representatives and local councils is scheduled for July 25, after the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission postponed it from July 20 to give political parties and election officials more time to prepare.
The commission said 215,860 people had registered to vote across the Mudug and Galgaduud regions, including 116,590 in Mudug and 99,270 in Galgaduud. Women account for 45.62% of registered voters, while men make up 54.38%.
The vote is being conducted through a direct electoral process involving registered voters and competing political parties. Election authorities had not publicly confirmed a final total of candidates at the time of publication.