Understanding Jubbaland elections; what’s at stake?

A man casts his ballot on November 16, 2016, in Somalia. Jubbaland will hold elections on August 21,2019. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | AFP

Somalia’s federal state Jubbaland will hold elections on August 21. Not everyone will vote, but it appears the poll could affect both Somalis and neighbouring countries.

Stretching from Gedo in the south to the Indian Ocean and bordering the entire Kenyan frontier with Somalia, Jubbaland is politically seen as Kenya’s buffer against Somali militant group al-Shabaab.