Somali opposition announces weekly protests over election dispute
“The terms of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the federal government and parliament had expired, Sharif said. He argued that any election held without broad political agreement could not be fully legitimate.
Wednesday May 20, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s principal opposition alliance said Tuesday it will begin weekly street protests in Mogadishu on June 4, stepping up pressure on the federal government after negotiations collapsed over the country’s electoral roadmap.
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The Somali Salvation Council said the demonstrations will be staged every Thursday until the sides reach a political settlement on elections. Opposition leaders framed the rallies as peaceful and urged residents of the capital to join them after the Eid holiday.
The announcement came at a Mogadishu news conference attended by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and other opposition figures.
“The terms of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the federal government and parliament had expired, Sharif said. He argued that any election held without broad political agreement could not be fully legitimate.
He said last week’s effort to strike a deal on election matters had broken down, stressing that no single side should control the process. According to Sharif, political actors must first agree on the electoral committees, the procedures and the timing of the vote.
Sharif also took aim at recent elections in Mogadishu and Baidoa, saying they exposed the corruption and political fragmentation that can follow when polls are conducted without consensus.
He accused the government of sending troops into areas already strained by both armed conflict and political tensions, saying the move had helped contribute to the deaths of soldiers and military officers.
Abdirahman Abdishakur said Mohamud should now be treated as a “former president,” insisting that the constitutional term had already ended. He called on Mogadishu residents to turn out for the planned protests and said the opposition would maintain public pressure until an agreement is secured.
The federal government has dismissed opposition assertions that Mohamud’s mandate has expired. Officials say constitutional amendments approved by parliament extended federal institutions by one year and changed the presidential term from four years to five, putting the current mandate in place until May 15, 2027.
The opposition rejects those changes, arguing they were adopted without broad political consensus and therefore cannot be used to prolong the president’s rule.
The dispute has sharpened since three days of talks between government and opposition leaders in Mogadishu ended without a breakthrough. Those discussions centered on the electoral model, constitutional revisions and the political transition.
International partners, including the United Nations, African Union and IGAD, have called on Somali leaders to return to dialogue, avoid escalation and pursue an inclusive political agreement.
Federal officials say Somalia must move toward one-person, one-vote elections to broaden public participation and bring an end to the indirect voting system. Opposition leaders counter that any direct election model must rest on political consensus, credible institutions and agreement with federal member states.
