By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Loading article content...
Loading article content...
DHUSAMAREB, 22 October 2026 - Galmudug's parliament elected Liban Ahmed Hassan as the state's new leader on Thursday, 22 October, after which he pledged to serve all residents and work with rival political groups.
Hassan, contested on the Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP) ticket and secured 72 votes. His rival, Abdulkadir Abdullahi Diriye of the Sincad political organisation, received 14 votes, while three of the 89 ballots cast were declared invalid.
Lawmakers also elected JSP candidate Senator Abdiweli Ibrahim Aden, known as Garyare, as deputy leader with 66 votes. Sincad's Abdisatar Mohamed Geelle received 20 votes, while three ballots were declared invalid.
In his acceptance speech, Hassan described the result as a victory for the people of Galmudug and thanked voters who had participated in successive rounds of voting.
He pledged to represent all residents, regardless of their political affiliation, and said his door would remain open to political rivals. He also promised to work towards fulfilling the commitments made during his election campaign.
Related articles
Hassan thanked competing political groups that supported his candidacy, as well as outgoing leader Ahmed Abdi Kariye, known as Qoorqoor, whom he credited with facilitating a peaceful election.
The vote took place in Dhusamareb, a day after candidates presented their programmes to lawmakers.
JSP won 67 of the assembly's 89 seats in the 30 September election rerun, while Sincad secured seven. JSP candidates also won the leadership positions in the newly elected parliament.
Hassan succeeds Qoorqoor, who has led Galmudug since February 2020 and announced in June that he would not seek another term.