Friday July 31, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) – Somalia’s Peace and Life (Nabad iyo Nolol) political party has firmly opposed demands to return the country to transitional rule, warning that the proposal would erode political gains and offer no durable answer to the continuing constitutional crisis.
Former Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirisaq, a senior figure in the party led by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, said establishing another transitional administration would reverse progress achieved since Somalia ended decades of interim governance and reflected no long-term political vision.
“Returning to the transitional system would be a political setback, not a lasting solution to the challenges,” Abdirisaq said in an interview.
Abdirisaq was responding to a recent letter from the Somali Future Council, an opposition coalition that proposed forming an inclusive Transitional Council to manage Somalia’s constitutional and electoral affairs until new national institutions can be renewed peacefully.
He said Nabad iyo Nolol has consistently rejected any return to transitional arrangements, arguing that Somalia’s political disputes must instead be settled through consensus and sustained dialogue.
“The appropriate solution is to continue the ongoing dialogue between Somali political stakeholders and reach an agreement based on compromise and consultation rather than creating a new transitional process,” he said.
Abdirisaq also took aim at President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, calling it regrettable that Somalia is again considering transitional rule under his current administration after formally leaving that era behind during Hassan Sheikh’s first presidency.
The dispute follows an open letter released by the Somali Future Council on July 27, calling on Somalia’s international partners to back a political settlement aimed at restoring national legitimacy and averting further instability.
The council said Somalia’s most urgent task is to secure a political accord that restores national consensus and protects the neutrality of state institutions, among them the Somali National Army.
Its letter was sent to the heads of state, defense ministers and chiefs of defense forces of nations providing troops and police to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), including Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Burundi and Egypt.
The Somali Future Council includes several leading opposition figures, among them a former president, former prime ministers, the presidents of Puntland State and Jubaland, former cabinet ministers and other political leaders.
The coalition said Somalia has entered a perilous constitutional period, asserting that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate expired on May 15, 2026, while Parliament’s term ended on April 14, 2026. It added that political leaders have yet to agree on a framework to steer the country through the transition.
The competing positions highlight widening divisions over the path out of Somalia’s political deadlock. The Somali Future Council views a transitional arrangement as essential to rebuilding legitimacy and national consensus, while Nabad iyo Nolol insists leaders should remain within the existing political order and pursue an inclusive settlement through dialogue.
