MOGADISHU – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has agreed to hold talks with opposition leaders on the country’s disputed electoral process, in a move aimed at defusing a deepening political crisis.
The decision follows warnings from the opposition that they would organize parallel elections and form a rival administration if the President failed to engage in what they described as “serious and inclusive” negotiations.
Federal Senator Iftin Hassan Basto said on Monday that President Mohamud had accepted the opposition’s demand and would soon convene discussions focused on resolving obstacles facing the electoral process.
“The president has agreed to engage the opposition in dialogue,” the senator said, adding that Somalia had already embarked on a path towards direct elections and that talks would centre on how such polls could be conducted.
However, opposition figures remain strongly opposed to holding one-person-one-vote elections under the current circumstances. They argue that there is insufficient time remaining in the government’s mandate, that insecurity remains widespread, and that no meaningful national reconciliation has taken place to support such a transition.
The agreement to hold talks comes after opposition leaders on Saturday threatened to organize parallel elections to establish an alternative government, warning of a potential constitutional vacuum if the political deadlock persisted.
The threat was issued following a days-long meeting in the southern port city of Kismayo, attended by opposition presidential candidates and the regional presidents of Jubaland and Puntland. The group operates under the umbrella of the Somali Future Council, an alliance critical of the federal government’s handling of the electoral process.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the council accused President Mohamud’s administration of unilateral decision-making and failing to build consensus on the country’s political future.
Somalia has struggled for decades to establish stable governance after the collapse of the central state in 1991. While the federal government has pledged to move towards direct elections, previous polls have relied on a complex clan-based system, reflecting ongoing security and political challenges.
It remains unclear when the talks will begin or whether they will succeed in bridging the widening divide between the government and its opponents.
