The former head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Mohamed Ali (Sanbaloolshe), has been re-elected to seat HOP058 in the House of the People of the 11th Somali Parliament.
In an election held in Jowhar district of the Middle Shabelle region, the capital of Hirshabelle, Sambaloolshe won the seat unopposed, after he withdrew from the expected challenger, Ismail Warsame Farah.
Abdullahi Sanbaloolshe was recently removed from his position as NISA chief, a position he had held for a year. While he was in office, his parliamentary seat was vacant, and it is understood that he planned to return to his seat when he steps down from NISA.
Sanbaloolshe previously lost this seat during the Farmajo administration, and after the removal of the NISA chief, he ran to defend his seat but failed.
Sanbaloolshe has spent the last few decades as a member of parliament and as the head of NISA – the only official to have served three terms as head of NISA.
His removal from NISA comes at a time when people in his Hiran region are criticizing the federal government of Somalia for neglecting its fight against the Al-Shabaab group.
