By HAN News Desk
MOGADISHU — A former head of Somalia’s intelligence agency on Monday urged federal authorities to allow lawmakers and politicians to travel freely to the southwestern city of Baidoa, as political tensions deepen ahead of regional elections.
Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloolshe, the former director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), called on the government to lift restrictions on federal lawmakers, including MP Murjaan and his delegation, who have reportedly been blocked from traveling from Mogadishu to Baidoa.
“MP Murjaan and his team should be allowed to leave. Their being stuck in Mogadishu will not add anything,” Sanbaloolshe said, arguing that such restrictions do not contribute to the ongoing electoral process in Southwest State.
He noted that several figures have already reached Baidoa despite the restrictions, including former Speaker of the House of the People Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman, MP Aden Saran-Soor, and Hassan Abdi Nur. According to him, these movements suggest that travel bans imposed in Mogadishu are unlikely to halt preparations for the الانتخابات in the regional capital.
Sanbaloolshe also criticized the current administration, describing its governance approach as weaker than that of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, whose tenure he said followed a more effective model of leadership.
His remarks come as tensions escalate between authorities in Mogadishu and leaders in Baidoa, where preparations for regional elections are continuing despite opposition from the federal government. Officials in Mogadishu have been accused of attempting to disrupt the process through travel restrictions and increased troop deployments in parts of the region.
The dispute intensified after Southwest State announced it was suspending cooperation with the federal government, accusing it of interfering in regional political and security matters. At the center of the standoff are disagreements over the الانتخابات process and recently approved constitutional amendments extending the mandates of federal institutions from four to five years.
