Somalia Government, Opposition Launch Mogadishu Talks to Resolve Election Disputes

Somalia opens high-level talks with opposition Future Council on elections and constitution

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government and the Somali Future Council formally opened high-level talks in Mogadishu on Wednesday, launching a long-anticipated push to resolve deep disputes over elections and constitutional reform amid weeks of rising political tension.

The meeting marked the first structured engagement in recent weeks between Villa Somalia and the opposition alliance, following a conciliatory luncheon hosted Tuesday by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for members of the Future Council. Both sides cast the gesture as a signal of readiness for dialogue.

Officials said the opening session began in an open atmosphere and produced agreement to continue regular meetings in the coming days. The venue was moved from a site inside Aden Adde International Airport to Villa Somalia, which authorities described as a logistical adjustment.

At the center of the talks is a fraught debate over how and when to hold Somalia’s next elections, and how to complete the Provisional Constitution — issues that have sharpened tensions across the federal system and among opposition actors.

• Key issues on the table:
  • Electoral framework and timing
  • Completion of the Provisional Constitution
  • Response to the country’s worsening drought crisis

The Future Council, which includes leaders from Puntland State and Jubaland, has opposed elements of the federal government’s constitutional review process and pressed for a negotiated electoral arrangement. While the bloc arrived with a shared demand for dialogue, participants acknowledged differing views within the alliance about the best path forward.

Opposition leaders met separately Wednesday to harmonize positions before formal negotiations resumed. People familiar with the talks said divisions persist over the preferred electoral model and safeguards needed to avoid a repeat of past disputes.

• Where positions diverge:
  • Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni and Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe are reported to favor a return to the 2022 indirect electoral model.
  • Other opposition figures have expressed reservations, arguing the previous process was flawed and should be reformed before any reuse.

Late Tuesday, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre met separately with Deni and Madobe to discuss preparations for the conference and explore confidence-building measures that could keep the process on track, according to officials briefed on the contacts.

For both sides, the stakes are high. A durable understanding on electoral rules and timelines is seen as essential to avert another destabilizing cycle of contested processes. Completing the Provisional Constitution is also viewed as a prerequisite for clarifying powers between federal and member state authorities — a recurrent source of friction that has complicated security and governance efforts.

While no breakthroughs were announced Wednesday, participants described the opening as constructive and said they expected to deepen technical discussions in subsequent sessions. The inclusion of drought response on the agenda underscored the parallel pressure to address worsening humanitarian conditions even as political negotiations unfold.

Officials did not immediately release a schedule for the next meetings or details about potential working groups. However, both sides have signaled they intend to sustain momentum, with an emphasis on mapping out an agreed process for electoral decision-making and constitutional finalization.

If the talks maintain pace, they could create a forum for hashing out contentious details around voter selection, timelines, and dispute resolution — areas that have previously stalled national processes. If they falter, the risk of renewed mistrust and political fragmentation could rise, particularly as opposition groups weigh internal differences over what constitutes an acceptable compromise.

For now, the move to the palace, the presidential luncheon, and the prime minister’s separate outreach suggest a concerted effort by federal authorities and opposition leaders to stabilize the political calendar and reduce the temperature — even as key questions about the architecture of Somalia’s next election remain unsettled.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.