Residents of Haradheere, a town in Somalia’s Mudug region, cast ballots this week to elect local council and regional parliamentary representatives, marking the community’s first vote since Somali federal forces recaptured it from al-Shabab in early 2023. The election forms part of a wider round of direct polling under way across Galmudug state, following similar exercises already completed in Banadir and South West State.
The vote matters because it tests whether Somalia’s push toward one-person-one-vote democracy can take root in areas long held by militants. Al-Shabab maintained strongholds in the southern portion of Galmudug for roughly a decade, largely in the districts of Xaradheere, Ceel Buur and Ceel Dheere, where residents were reportedly subjected to illegal taxation, movement restrictions, extortion and forced conscription. Its removal was seen as a rare, durable security gain in a conflict that has otherwise proven difficult to reverse.
For nearly 15 years, according to local accounts, Xaradheere functioned as one of al-Shabab’s most significant footholds in central Somalia. Somali National Army units, backed by local clan militias, retook the town in January 2023, ending years of militant administration.
Somali election officials have described the broader Galmudug process as the third instance of direct district-level voting under the federal government’s electoral roadmap. Twelve political parties fielded 369 candidates for 89 seats in the House of Representatives, while 16 parties put forward 924 candidates for 243 seats in the regional assembly across the state, though it was not immediately clear how many of those seats applied specifically to Xaradheere. Radio Dalsan
The vote has not been free of controversy. Galmudug’s regional administration earlier accused the electoral commission chairman of aligning with a presidential candidate’s campaign and demanded guarantees of an impartial process, allegations the commission has not publicly addressed. Analysts have also warned that entrenched clan rivalries and a contested one-person-one-vote model could complicate the broader Galmudug election. Radio Dalsan
Security and governance analysts say success will ultimately be measured not only by the town’s liberation from militant control, but by whether basic services, schooling, commerce and courts can now function without armed group interference. Reconstruction in Xaradheere has reportedly included a new district council building, a police station and other government facilities.
For many residents, officials say, the election represents a symbolic shift — from decisions imposed under threat of violence to choices made at the ballot box.
