By Hanad Abdi - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 27 September 2026 Opposition party Towfiiq has called on Somalia's National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to reverse its decision to exclude it from the Galmudug election rerun scheduled for September 30.
The commission on September 14 published a list of 12 political parties approved to contest Galmudug's combined local council and regional assembly elections. Towfiiq was not included.
The commission said Towfiiq had failed to submit its list of candidates by the September 12 deadline and was therefore deemed unprepared to participate.
Towfiiq leader Sheikh Mohamed Shakir Ali Hassan described the decision at a news conference on Saturday as an "abuse of power." He said his organisation was prepared to contest the election but had been removed from the list.
"The Galmudug election is of great importance to Towfiiq. The decision should be revisited and given special consideration," Sheikh Shakir said.
He said participating in the Galmudug election carried significant political and social importance for Towfiiq and urged the commission to reconsider.
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The Towfiiq leader also recalled that the party had filed a case with the Supreme Court after alleging its votes had been misappropriated in the previous election held on July 30.
The Supreme Court annulled the election results on August 24 and ordered a rerun.
Sheikh Shakir said Towfiiq was surprised to be excluded from the repeat election despite being among the parties that pursued the legal challenge that led to the annulment.
The electoral commission has not yet responded to Towfiiq's latest request or its allegation that the commission abused its authority.