Laftagareen Re-Elected Southwest State President as Constitutional Standoff Deepens

Southwest State's parliament in Baidoa re-elected Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen as state president by a vote of 66 to 13 in a fast-tracked process, consolidating his legitimacy as the standoff with Mogadishu intensifies. Laftagareen had suspended relations with the Federal Government on March 17 and resigned from President Mohamud's JSP party on March 18, citing the unconstitutional March 4 passage of constitutional amendments by a boycotted federal parliament. His re-election signals that Southwest State's parliament and political establishment remain unified behind the state's defiance of federal overreach. Puntland and Jubbaland have also maintained parallel standoffs with Mogadishu. The re-election effectively cements a de facto tripartite opposition — Southwest State, Puntland, and Jubbaland — to Mohamud's constitutional agenda, creating the most serious federal-state crisis since 2021.