By Nuh Mahamed - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 9 August 2026 — Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur ‘Jama’ and Abdulkadir Omar Moallim ‘Daada’ are the final two candidates in the race for Speaker of Somalia’s House of the People. Lawmakers will vote Monday to decide who will lead the chamber.
The two candidates received their official certificates from the electoral committee on Saturday after meeting all contest requirements.
The election comes amid heightened political rivalry between the government and opposition over constitutional amendments, term limits and the direction of the country’s electoral process. Earlier this year, opposition lawmakers strongly resisted constitutional amendments brought before parliament. Tensions escalated into armed clashes in Mogadishu in June.
The speakership became vacant after former House Speaker Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe was elected president of South West State. Since 20 June, First Deputy Speaker Saadia Yasin Haji Samatar has served as acting Speaker.
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Before the race narrowed, Sa’adad Mohamed Nur Aliyow was also a contender. He resigned as State Minister for Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation to run. The Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdisalam Ali ‘Dhay’ also withdrew.
By the close of registration, the contest had narrowed to the two Abdulkadirs.
The eighth session of the Federal Parliament opened on 1 August, with members of both chambers recalled to Mogadishu. The speakership race has intensified political activity in the capital, where many lawmakers who had been outside Mogadishu, both in Somalia and abroad, have returned ahead of Monday’s vote.