Businessman and chairman of the Somali Welfare Party, Mohamus Muhammed Mohamud has entered the race for the presidential elections scheduled for May 2026.
Mr Mahmoud is entering the race through the Somali Unity Candidates Council—a group of five parties that have come together to oust the current president, Sheikh Hassan Mahmoud.
Mr Mohamud says the key priority for himself and the council is to restore security and fight terrorism, poverty and democratisation of the country by enacting a new constitution once they are in power.
“The current crop of politicians has failed the country. After 35 years of civil war, they are taking the country forward by clinging to their clans,” he said, though conceding that the country is not yet ripe for universal suffrage and will still depend on the 4.5 clan-based electoral system.
Fluent in Arabic and English, Mr Mohamud is teaming up with intellectuals, the youth and civil society within the country and in diaspora to try to bring about change.
“It is a pity that poverty in Somalia is about 70 percent, yet the country has the potential for agriculture, fisheries and livestock export. We want to make these key sectors work for the Somali people to create employment and reduce poverty. These sectors can also reduce the number of youth who are falling into the hands of al-Shabaab because of poverty,” said Mr Mohamud.
Opponents of President Mahmoud have fiercely opposed the government’s planned 2026 electoral amendments to introduce one-person-one-vote, seeing them as an attempt to tip the scales in favour of the incumbent president.
President Mohamoud views reform as a way to improve his re-election prospects. Those eager to dislodge President Mohamud worry that the rapid introduction of the new system will cramp their election chances.
Mr Mohamdu has also joined the group seeking to oust the incumbent. Mr Mohamud worked as an administrator at the University of Mogadishu before the civil war broke out in 1991, after which he ventured into business in East Africa. In 2000, he travelled to the UK.
He has been working among the Somali community in the UK since then. He later founded the Somali Welfare Party in 2015.
In Somalia, Mr Mohamud has established an Orphanage centre where he takes care of over 250 destitute children, offers scholarships to many needy students, and has established a feeding programme for the poor and the internally displaced.
He believes that countries bordering Somalia, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, are brothers and have a common goal of bringing peace to the country. He also believes that Somali development partners such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar should be seen as friends and not people trying to push their interests in Somalia.
