The Equality and Justice Party of Sincad has threatened to withdraw from the South West state elections if nothing is done about what it called corruption and unfairness in the electoral process.
Speaking at a press conference in Baidoa, Sincad’s secretary general, Abdifitax Hassan Afrax, said his party still supports one-person-one-vote elections, but accused the ruling JSP party of political interference and abuse of state power.
“We are among those who are convinced that Somalia can have one-person-one-vote elections,” he said, adding that his party wants to win the votes of the people of South West state so that its candidates can participate in various levels of government.
The SINCAD party secretary said his party was prevented from holding events in Baidoa, while the ruling party freely uses state powers and political campaigns.
Afrax accused the electoral commission of misleading the public, saying that events were organized in the city to support JSP candidates, who were shown to have already won seats in the elections.
He called on Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to intervene in the situation in Baidoa and bring in international observers to monitor the elections.
Although he said they did not want to boycott the elections, he made it clear that if the current situation is not changed, his party will not continue to participate in the South West elections.
The Somali People’s Union also said that it had completely withdrawn from the elections expected to be held in the South West on May 10, 2026, due to reasons without elaborating on the obstacles they faced.
