Tensions between Somalia’s federal government and the Jubaland administration escalated on Sunday as Jubaland unilaterally established an election commission, prompting strong condemnation from Mogadishu and leading to the severance of ties with the federal government. The move comes after Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe withdrew from National Consultative Council talks last month, citing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s plan for unified state elections under a single commission by 2025.

Madobe opposed the president’s proposal, arguing that it would effectively extend the terms of regional leaders in a manner he deemed unconstitutional. This latest action makes Jubaland the second regional state to cut ties with the Somali federal government, following Puntland’s similar decision earlier this year. Both regional administrations have accused the federal government of overstepping its constitutional authority and undermining regional autonomy.

In defiance of federal oversight, Madobe is determined to conduct an indirect election in Kismayo, replicating the process of his re-election in 2019, when he clashed with then-President Mohamed Farmajo’s administration. Last week, Madobe intensified the political standoff by facilitating the resignation of three federal cabinet ministers from Jubaland and summoning federal MPs from the region to Kismayo for consultations.

Amid the escalating crisis, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reportedly considered sending Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, who hails from Jubaland, to mediate in Kismayo. Additionally, the federal government called on African Union peacekeepers to take control of the Kismayo airfield, but the mission declined, citing that airport operations were under the jurisdiction of the regional government and beyond their mandate.