ASWJ Delegates
After 26 days of meetings in Abudwak of Somalia's Galmudug region, the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ) militia established a new administration for the central regions in an attempt to resolve leadership disputes and prevent ASWJ from splitting into two rival groups.
The election was fair and transparent, as confirmed by representatives of the Ethiopian government and IGAD who attended the process. The results are as follows:
- Dr. Hirsi Aw Mohamed (Labo Garre) was elected as the Chairman of the ASWJ Councils after being challenged by two candidates, Sheikh Ibrahim Hassan Gureye and Abdi Dahir. Dr. Mohamed garnered 28 votes, Sheikh Gureye earned nine votes and Abdi Dahir received two votes. Dr. Hirsi Aw Mohamed, an intellectual from Australia and former lecturer at a Malaysian university, will be the first leader from Diasporas to lead the ASWJ Administration.
- Sheikh Omar Abdulkadir Adan was re-elected as the chairman of the parliamentary council in an uncontested vote.
- Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Hefow was re-elected as the chairman of operations council in an uncontested vote.
The ASWJ is still working on elections for the Religious Council which is composed of renowned religious scholars.
What was the Rift All About?
The voting took nearly a month due to political infighting among ASWJ's leadership. The biggest challenge confronting the ASWJ in electing new leaders was the process of electing the Parliamentary or Advisory Council, which is composed of 39 members. The disputes centered on whether or not the parliamentary council composition should be based on clan or regional representations since some of the candidates were hailing from areas not controlled by ASWJ militias.
These disputes led to fragmentation and small group meetings among ASWJ delegates. To overcome this obstacle, the security committee banned separate meetings outside the general meeting and banned two radio stations, Radio Abduwak and Radio Daljir, in Abudwak from broadcasting news stories related to the meeting. The radio stations have since started broadcasting again.
The dispute over the parliamentary council was solved by increasing the council membership to accommodate the demands of some groups.
That's the vision Somalia needs. Men free from the Civil Strife Somalia has seen for the past 20 years. 
