KISMAYO, Somalia — Somalia’s main opposition coalition will fully participate in a high-stakes conference on national elections set for Kismayo, after members of the Somali Salvation Forum met privately in Mogadishu on Wednesday night to discuss the country’s political deadlock and the upcoming Jubaland-led talks.
Reliable sources close to the meeting said the coalition agreed to travel to Kismayo on Dec. 17 for the long-planned gathering, which is drawing close scrutiny from both local and national stakeholders. Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe participated in the Mogadishu discussions by phone, sharing his views with the forum ahead of the summit.
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Billed as the largest opposition-led conference to date, the Kismayo meeting is being organized collaboratively by the Jubaland regional administration, Puntland State state, and the opposition coalition within the Somali Future Council. Organizers intend to widen participation to include political figures outside the council to broaden consensus and legitimacy.
At the heart of the program is an effort to forge a unified vision among Somali stakeholders and to draft a transparent, feasible electoral framework. Coalition members say the goal is to improve on previous attempts to resolve disputes around how the country votes and how competing authorities share power, especially as the nation inches toward a new electoral cycle.
Parliamentarians from both houses, academics and civil society representatives are expected to attend, adding institutional and civic voices to a debate that has often been dominated by federal and regional leaders. The Somali opposition has framed the gathering as an inclusive venue to hash out the parameters of a credible roadmap for national elections.
The conference comes amid growing tensions over the federal government’s push to implement one-person, one-vote elections. Opposition groups have openly opposed the current approach, arguing that major legal, security and logistical questions remain unresolved. Supporters of the Kismayo talks say the format offers a chance to build common ground among federal member states, opposition parties and civic actors.
While the agenda has not been made public in full, the coalition’s decision to attend signals a concerted bid to influence the terms of Somalia’s electoral transition. Regional leaders in Jubaland and Puntland State have positioned the Kismayo forum as a platform to refine proposals and present a joint position to national authorities, with an emphasis on transparency and implementation feasibility.
The outcome could shape Somalia’s next steps on elections and intergovernmental relations. With attendance from lawmakers, academics and civil society, the organizers aim to produce a set of recommendations that reflect a broader spectrum of interests than past, more narrowly negotiated frameworks.
All eyes now turn to Kismayo on Dec. 17, where the scale of attendance and the breadth of consensus will serve as early indicators of whether the conference can move Somalia closer to an agreed path for a national vote—and whether opposition and regional leaders can unite behind a framework that the federal government is willing to adopt.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
