Somali President Meets Opposition Groups as Talks Resume on Elections, Constitution

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Tuesday hosted opposition leaders, including members of the Somali Future Council, for a luncheon in Mogadishu, signaling a renewed push to break a political deadlock over elections and constitutional reforms.

• The talks follow a federal invitation to a National Consultation Conference intended to ease rifts between Villa Somalia and opposition-aligned regional leaders.
• Discussions centered on the electoral process, disputed constitutional amendments, national unity, drought response and ongoing military operations against al-Shabab, according to the presidency.
• Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, cabinet members and representatives of the Future Council — an opposition alliance that includes leaders from Puntland State and Jubbaland — attended.
• The opposition has pressed for a negotiated electoral model and criticized both the pace and substance of constitutional changes now debated in parliament.

The meeting comes weeks after the federal government invited opposition figures to a broad-based dialogue aimed at cooling tensions that have sharpened political divides and complicated coordination between Mogadishu and regional states. The presidency framed Tuesday’s luncheon as a confidence-building step ahead of the conference, which is expected to wrestle with the most contentious questions on the table: how Somalia will vote and how far lawmakers should go in rewriting the country’s basic law.

“The country’s future requires collective responsibility and inclusive dialogue,” the presidency quoted President Hassan Sheikh as saying, underscoring calls for a consultative path at a time of mounting political and humanitarian strain.

The Future Council, which has been critical of the federal government’s approach, has urged that any electoral framework be negotiated rather than imposed, arguing that consensus among federal and regional stakeholders is essential to legitimacy and stability. Leaders from Puntland State and Jubbaland — key power centers whose stances often shape national bargaining — were represented at the luncheon, highlighting the high stakes of the coming talks.

Somalia’s leadership is attempting to balance political negotiations with urgent security and relief priorities. The presidency said the dialogue also covered the national drought response and ongoing military operations against al-Shabab, reflecting pressure on the government to advance reforms while managing persistent insurgent threats and humanitarian needs.

The National Consultation Conference is expected to home in on disputed constitutional amendments now occupying parliament and on the architecture of the next elections — from the voting model to how power is shared between the federal government and member states. While no breakthroughs were announced Tuesday, the engagement signaled an opening for negotiations after months of acrimony that have strained relations between Villa Somalia and opposition-aligned regional leaders.

Whether the process delivers compromise will hinge on how far each side is willing to move on the core files: the scope and timing of constitutional change, the design of an electoral system acceptable to federal and regional stakeholders, and mechanisms to sustain national unity as security forces continue their campaign against al-Shabab. For now, both the government and opposition have publicly committed to dialogue — a necessary first step in Somalia’s contentious but pivotal reform cycle.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.