AXADLE, Somalia — Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, known as Ahmed Madobe, is due in Garowe on Sunday for talks with Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni as a widening dispute over Somalia’s electoral process strains relations among the country’s political leaders.
Madobe is scheduled to visit Puntland State after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud postponed a meeting that had been set to open in Mogadishu on November 14.
People familiar with the planned visit said the two regional leaders will discuss Somalia’s political climate, disagreements over electoral arrangements and possible terms for a negotiated framework governing future elections.
The talks come amid continued friction between the federal government — whose constitutional mandate opposition figures have challenged — and regional administrations and political leaders opposed to its handling of the electoral process and broader national direction.
Puntland State and Jubaland have been among the strongest critics of the federal government’s election strategy. Their opposition has heightened concerns about whether Somalia’s political actors can forge consensus as the country moves toward another electoral cycle.
Madobe’s discussions in Garowe are also expected to serve as consultations after the postponement of the Mogadishu gathering, which was intended to bring federal officials and other political stakeholders to the same table.
No replacement date has been announced for the delayed Mogadishu talks, which were postponed amid an opposition boycott.
AXADLETM
