Garissa governorship aspirant Mohamed Shidiye has rejected the traditional practice of elders selecting and endorsing political candidates.

Shidiye said voters must be given the freedom to determine their preferred leaders.

Speaking in Garissa town when he met members of the Degodia community in Garissa as he continued to popularise his 2027 gubernatorial bid, Shidiye, who hails from the Awliyahan clan, said political leadership should be determined by the people rather than through decisions made by a select group of elders.

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The Former Lagdera MPsaid the era when community elders could enter political “tents” and make decisions on behalf of the electorate was long gone.

“For far too long, we have been using the traditional methods of elders.The public must decide because structured systems of governance through elders have become so bureaucratic that service delivery has become a challenge,” Shidiye said.

“We want to change that matrix because I believe the people's rights have been muzzled for far too long. There is no question of elders coming into our tents and deciding what they should do on behalf of others.”

His remarks come three weeks after the Awliyahan community sealed a political pact with the Samawadhal community.

The pact saw the Awlihan community endorse Garissa Senator Abdulkadir Haji as its sole candidate for governor, despite Haji hailing from the Samawadhal.

The endorsement was made during a colourful ceremony in Garissa town that brought together the Awliyahan and Samawadhal sultanates, elders, political leaders, professionals and community representatives.

The decision followed months of consultations under the Awliyahan gubernatorial political roadmap consultative engagement process and culminated in Haji being issued with an endorsement certificate by the Awliyahan.

The arrangement formally cemented the political understanding between the two communities, popularly known as the Talasame Alliance.

The pact has significantly altered the political calculations ahead of the 2027 Garissa gubernatorial contest, particularly for Shidiye, who hails from the Awliyahan community and had been positioning himself for the county's top seat.

By endorsing Haji as its preferred candidate, the Awliyahan community effectively placed Shidiye outside the current preferred political arrangement, although the political landscape could still shift before the elections.

Shidiye, however, appeared to challenge the relevance of such community-based political arrangements, arguing that the changing demographics of the electorate made it increasingly difficult for elders to make political decisions on behalf of an entire population.

“I think 75 per cent of our generation today is under 40 years old, so it doesn't add up,” he said.

He added that younger voters should be allowed to exercise their democratic rights and determine who they want to represent them rather than having their choices predetermined through traditional structures.

His outreach to the Degodia community is part of a broader campaign by gubernatorial aspirants to build alliances beyond their respective clans and secure support from minority and non-local communities whose votes could prove decisive in the closely contested race.

Garissa county is predominantly inhabited by three major Somali clan groupings—the Awliyahan, Abduwak and Samawadhal.

However, smaller clans, minority groups and non-local communities command a significant share of the electorate and have historically played a critical role in determining the outcome of county elections.

With clan and coalition arrangements continuing to shape Garissa's political landscape, aspirants have increasingly turned their attention to communities outside their traditional bases in a bid to build broader electoral coalitions.

Shidiye's engagement with the Degodia community therefore signals an attempt to widen his support base and build a political coalition that transcends the current clan-based alliances.

He is seeking to wrestle the governorship from incumbent Governor Nathif Jama in the 2027 election, with former Governor Ali Korane, former Principal Secretary Abdi Dubat and former Ijara MP Ibrahim Abass also expected to mount campaigns for the seat.

The contest is likely to intensify as aspirants seek endorsements, forge alliances and court influential communities ahead of the polls.

Shidiye was accompanied bycounty assembly majority leader Mohamed Abdi Farah, MCAs Mahat Abdikadir (Modogashe) and Omar Abdi (Dmajaley), among other leaders.