opposition

Mogadishu on edge: security, protests and the shrinking space for dissent in Somalia When Somalia’s defence minister publicly warned this week that the government will not permit opposition demonstrations in the capital, it was more than a rebuke to critics — it was a message about who will set the rules of political engagement as the country heads into an election season. Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, a close ally of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accused opposition figures of being backed by “saboteurs” and of mobilising the poor…

Namibia’s president reaches across the aisle — but will words turn into action? President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is sitting down with leaders of the opposition this week in a gesture she said was promised during her State of the Nation address in March: an exchange of views intended to “move the country forward.” The meeting, part of a series of conversations with political rivals, is both plainly practical and highly symbolic in a country where the politics of cooperation have often been fragile. "We may belong to…

Protests Ignite in Côte d'Ivoire as Election Day Approaches As Côte d'Ivoire braces for a presidential election on October 25, a palpable tension fills the air, marked by the recent announcement from the country’s leading opposition parties. On the heels of their leaders, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, being barred from contesting, a call for daily nationwide protests rings through the streets of this West African nation. The situation has quickly escalated into a scenario that echoes the political turmoil of…

Puntland State’s opposition rejects reported North Western State of Somalia understanding — and the political ground shifts In Garowe, the political heart of Puntland State, four opposition parties walked into a hastily called meeting and walked out with a message sharper than usual for Somalia’s notoriously tempered political language: whatever “understanding” was reportedly reached between Puntland State and neighboring North Western State of Somalia, they want no part of it. The parties — Ifiye, Mustaqbal, Mideeye, and…

Somali Politics Spill Into Nairobi Again — And Mogadishu Pushes Back It is a familiar scene in East African diplomacy: Somali politicians gathering in a Nairobi hotel to hash out the country’s future far from Mogadishu’s checkpoints and political heat. This week, that well-worn script met a forceful rebuttal from Somalia’s defense minister, who said enough is enough. In a sharply worded post, Defense Minister Ahmed Macallin Fiqi condemned a Nairobi meeting of opposition figures and regional leaders — among them Puntland…

Somali opposition forms “Somalia Future Council” as political clock ticks In a conciliatory — and potentially combustible — move, prominent Somali leaders gathered in Nairobi this week to unveil a new opposition coalition they call the “Somalia Future Council.” Brought together by regional heavyweights and veteran national figures, the alliance aims to shape the country’s fraught political transition as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term edges toward its final months. Who’s in the room matters The coalition combines…

Somalia’s opposition takes the fight to the courts — and the country risks paying the price Somalia’s fragile political equilibrium rattled further this week when a coalition of opposition figures lodged a formal legal complaint accusing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and senior officials of corruption, human-rights violations and unconstitutional power grabs. What began as a paper filing in Mogadishu is best read not merely as another courtroom drama, but as a symptom of a deeper crisis in a state still stitching itself…

The Blaze That Ignited Political Tensions: A Look at Weah's House Fire In the heart of Liberia’s capital, a fire that engulfed former president George Weah's home has sent shockwaves through a nation already grappling with political divisions. Although the flames are extinguished, the repercussions linger, casting a long shadow over the promise of peace and coexistence in a country that has long been haunted by the specters of past violence and instability. A Destructive Flame The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC),…

Clashes in Mogadishu as Government Accuses Opposition Guards of Trying to Seize Police Station What happened Somalia’s federal government on Wednesday accused opposition politicians of attempting to storm a police station in Mogadishu, an allegation that, if confirmed, would mark one of the most serious confrontations in the capital this year. The clash, outside the Warta Nabadda District Police Station, involved security forces and armed guards escorting opposition lawmakers. Shots were fired and injuries were reported,…

Analysis: Jubbaland’s Broadside Against Mogadishu Exposes Somalia’s Uneasy Balancing Act Somalia’s fragile political compact wobbled again this week as the Jubbaland regional administration publicly accused the federal government in Mogadishu of drifting from core national priorities, including the campaign against al-Shabaab and the country’s hard-won political unity. In a blunt statement issued Monday, Jubbaland warned that “short-term political interests” were eroding trust and urged a return to consensus politics. “The…