MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia’s federal government is moving to reopen dialogue with opposition leaders as the country heads toward political gatherings in the regional capitals of Dhusamareeb and Jowhar, according to sources familiar with the talks on Saturday. The latest push for mediation is being backed by Turkey, the sources said, as officials look for a way to lower political temperatures in Mogadishu, where tensions have recently contributed to security unrest. During discussions on Friday, the government reiterated…

Gunfire in Mogadishu has done what weeks of warnings could not: it has laid bare the hard political truth that Somalia’s election disputes cannot be settled by force alone. For months, federal member states, opposition figures and other influential political actors had urged caution as efforts moved ahead around an electoral model that never won nationwide consensus. Their message was consistent. In Somalia’s still-fragile political order, negotiation and agreement matter more than the reach of state institutions acting on…

MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 3 — Western diplomats have pressed Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over the direction of the country’s political transition, urging his government to enter serious talks and settle on an election formula acceptable to all key players, diplomatic sources told Axadle on Wednesday. People familiar with the meeting said representatives from several Western countries sat down with the president on Tuesday and delivered messages from their capitals calling for a more inclusive process as Somalia…

Tuesday June 2, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission has set June 10 as the date for Southwest State’s presidential election, laying out a tight sequence of votes that will first determine the regional parliament’s leadership. Under the timetable released Monday, candidates for speaker and deputy speaker of the Southwest State House of Representatives will begin registering on June 2. The commission said the list of contenders for parliamentary leadership will be published on…

Monday June 1, 2026 Ethiopians ready to vote in the general election to choose members of parliament, who will in turn select the next prime minister. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopians head to the polls on Monday for a general election that will shape the next parliament and, ultimately, the country’s next prime minister. The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) says 47 political parties and more than 10,900 candidates are competing, among them 2,198 hopefuls for the federal parliament, 8,736 for regional and city…

Monday June 1, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s widening political standoff drew fresh international concern Monday, as key partners pressed the federal government and opposition leaders to return to talks and settle on an election roadmap without delay. In a joint statement released June 1, the United Kingdom, the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia, the European Union, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway said Somali leaders must place the national interest above partisan divisions at a sensitive moment for…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre is set to head to Dhusamareeb, the seat of Galmudug state, as tensions intensify between regional President Ahmed Abdi Karie (Qoorqoor) and the federal government in Villa Somalia. People familiar with the plan said Barre’s trip is intended to help bridge the widening political divide and push both sides toward a settlement in Galmudug. Over the past several days, the prime minister has held a string of consultations in Mogadishu aimed at easing the standoff,…

Colombia’s presidential race is headed for a high-stakes runoff, with right-wing outsider Abelardo De La Espriella poised to face leftist Ivan Cepeda after first-round results showed a razor-thin margin between the two men, while Mr Cepeda and his allies said they would hold off on accepting the outcome until the count is formally confirmed. Less than two percentage points separated the candidates, according to data from the country’s national registry office, in an election shaped by anxieties over security, a struggling…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A delegation of senior Somali politicians and former legislators has returned to Mogadishu after several days of closed-door talks in Dhuusamareeb with Galmudug President Ahmed Abdi Kaariye “Qoorqoor,” according to people familiar with the discussions. The group, made up largely of political figures from the Galmudug region, had been shuttling messages between regional and federal players as part of a wider effort to ease tensions and build a path toward agreement, the sources said. One of the central…

Somalia: Rift Deepens Between President and Intelligence Chief Over Galmudug Election MOGADISHU, Somalia — A widening clash between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Director Mahad Salad has raised alarm over the risk of unrest in central Galmudug, according to people familiar with the talks. What began as a round of political consultations in Mogadishu has now soured into a breakdown in negotiations over who should lead Galmudug ahead of the regional presidential…