By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Somalia, 15 June 2026 – Jubaland President Ahmed Islam Madobe said Jubaland's election does not require recognition from Somalia’s federal government, escalating dispute with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over federal authority and regional legitimacy.
Speaking on Sunday after closing a training programme for Jubaland’s Duufaan special unit of the Darawish forces, Madobe rejected comments made by President Mohamud during an interview with Dawan Media on Friday.
President Mohamud had said his government did not recognise Madobe’s election and did not recognise him as president of Jubaland.
He added that the federal government was pursuing dialogue and reconciliation to bring Jubaland into the political process.
However, in response, Madobe said Somalia’s 2012 Provisional Constitution defines the relationship between the federal government and federal member states, and argued that Jubaland’s election was a matter for the people of Jubaland.
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“The election taking place in Jubaland needs recognition from the people of Jubaland,” he said. “There is no legal requirement for recognition from the federal government.”
He also accused President Mohamud of exceeding his own constitutional term, saying the president was in no position to question Jubaland’s legitimacy.
“If the issue is recognition, then there is no recognition for you either,” Madobe said, referring to President Mohamud.
The exchange highlights continuing tensions between Somalia’s federal government and Jubaland, one of the country’s federal member states, over elections, constitutional authority and power-sharing.
Jubaland has long had strained relations with Mogadishu, with disputes often centred on election procedures, and the balance of power between the federal government and regional administrations.