Somali Future Council calls ‘salvation’ summit as election standoff deepens, parliament terms near expiry
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The Somali Future Council said Saturday it will convene a “national salvation” summit on April 10, accusing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of blocking a political agreement on national elections as key constitutional deadlines approach.
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The council — a coalition that includes leaders from Puntland State and Jubaland, former presidents and prime ministers, federal lawmakers, prominent politicians and civil society figures — issued the call after a high-level meeting in Mogadishu on Friday. In a communique, it warned that the mandates for both houses of the Federal Parliament expire on April 14, a lapse it said risks creating a dangerous power vacuum.
The group accused the presidency and the leadership of both parliamentary chambers of violating the provisional constitution and internal parliamentary rules, alleging a breach of Article 134, which lays out the legal process for amending the constitution. It also claimed that more than 50 lawmakers have been “illegally barred” from attending parliamentary sessions over their opposition to the current constitutional review drive.
The sweeping set of allegations underscores intensifying tensions in Somalia’s protracted political transition, where disputes over the shape and sequencing of electoral and constitutional reforms have repeatedly stalled consensus. The council framed the April 10 summit as an emergency step to head off institutional paralysis and preserve what it described as a lawful path to elections.
Beyond Mogadishu, the council raised alarms over governance uncertainties within Somalia’s federal member states. It argued that expired mandates and unclear timelines for regional ballots threaten to derail a peaceful, orderly handover of power nationwide. To reduce that risk, it called for the immediate holding of regional elections in line with each state’s constitution and federal principles on the separation of powers.
While the council’s communique concentrated on looming deadlines and alleged procedural breaches, it also sought to portray itself as a cross-clan, cross-institutional forum capable of brokering a way out of the impasse. The breadth of its membership — spanning regional leaders, ex-heads of government, sitting and former MPs, and civic actors — is intended to amplify its leverage ahead of April 10.
The presidency and leaders of the two parliamentary chambers were not immediately addressed in the council’s statement beyond the accusations of overreach and constitutional violations. The communique did not specify whether current federal officials or their representatives would be invited to participate in the summit or how any recommendations would be enforced ahead of the April 14 deadline.
The council’s intervention adds urgency to a calendar already stacked with political stakes. If no agreement is reached before parliamentary terms lapse, the country could face competing claims to authority, contested legislative action and heightened uncertainty around the rules that will govern the next electoral cycle.
Key points from the council’s communique:
- Announced a “national salvation” summit for April 10 in Mogadishu.
- Warned that the mandates of both houses of the Federal Parliament expire on April 14.
- Accused the presidency and parliamentary leaders of violating the constitution and internal rules, citing Article 134 on amendment procedures.
- Claimed more than 50 lawmakers were barred from parliamentary sessions due to opposition to the constitutional review.
- Called for immediate regional elections in accordance with state constitutions and federal separation-of-powers principles.
The Somali Future Council’s statement did not outline a detailed summit agenda but framed the gathering as a last-ditch effort to avoid a constitutional crisis and to restore consensus on the country’s election roadmap. With deadlines days apart, the standoff places Somalia’s fragile governance structure under acute strain, and the outcome of the proposed talks could determine whether the transition proceeds peacefully or veers into deeper uncertainty.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
