Monday July 20, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s government and opposition leaders returned to the negotiating table in Mogadishu on Monday, reopening talks aimed at breaking a deadlock over elections and contested constitutional changes.
Turkey convened the second round of discussions, bringing together representatives of the Federal Government of Somalia, the Somali Salvation Forum and Nabad iyo Nolol. Delegates from Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United Nations also attended.
Sources said the consultations took place in separate sessions, with mediators meeting each opposition group individually. The Somali Salvation Forum held the first meeting, followed by Nabad iyo Nolol later Monday. Federal government officials also held a separate session with the mediators.
Sources said an opposition alliance headed by former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke is expected to take part in the talks on Tuesday.
In the initial round, participants presented their preferred models for conducting the elections. This second phase is intended to examine and compare those proposals.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said four electoral models have been presented to the mediators.
On Monday, the government and opposition groups reached agreement on three broad principles: retaining clan quotas, preserving the 30% quota for women and conducting elections under a one person, one vote system.
Retaining clan quotas refers to keeping the current 4.5 clan power-sharing arrangement, which distributes parliamentary seats among clans.
Detailed negotiations have yet to begin on the central points of dispute, including the constitutional basis for the vote, the electoral model to be adopted and the electoral commission that would oversee the process.
The federal government argues that elections should proceed under the Constitution approved in 2026. Opposition groups maintain that the 2012 Provisional Constitution must remain the foundation for elections and electoral legislation.
Diplomatic sources said mediators hope Somali political stakeholders can settle on a single electoral model and a mechanism to implement it, helping avert further conflict and advance the country’s political rebuilding.
The standoff follows constitutional amendments supported by the federal government that critics say could prolong President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term by one year and postpone federal elections until 2027.
Somalia’s presidential election had been scheduled for May, following the expiration of Parliament’s mandate in April. But disagreements over the electoral framework — and the government’s effort to move from the clan-based indirect system to direct elections — have left the vote uncertain.
