political

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s main opposition alliance, the Somali Future Council, says it will attend a federal government–led consultative conference in Mogadishu, a move the bloc casts as essential to averting a constitutional vacuum and breaking the country’s escalating political and electoral impasse. In a statement issued Saturday, the alliance framed its participation as a bid to secure an inclusive political settlement that preserves the unity and statehood of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The Somali Future…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni met in Nairobi with diplomats from key international partners to discuss Somalia’s political landscape, his office said, as foreign envoys prepare parallel contacts with regional leaders and opposition figures ahead of proposed national talks. Deni, accompanied by members of his cabinet, held talks with representatives from the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to officials. The meeting comes amid heightened…

Former President Lazarus Chakwera accused his successor, Peter Mutharika, on Thursday of overseeing a campaign of intimidation and “unlawful arrests, and the abuse of due process” aimed at silencing opposition figures, calling the pattern a “dangerous collapse” of the rule of law. In a formal statement, Chakwera said he has notified President Mutharika of what he described as politically motivated actions against leaders of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). “This includes individuals whose only crime is exercising their…

Opinion: The January Deadline That Could Reconfigure Somalia’s Future MOGADISHU — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s visit to Las Anod this week was more than a symbolic return to a city at the crossroads of North Western State of Somalia and Somalia’s Northeast State. It was a reminder that the country’s cohesion is being tested by simultaneous crises: a looming domestic showdown over the electoral roadmap and a geopolitical shock after Israel recognized North Western State of Somalia as an independent state on Dec. 26,…

Puntland State president vows measured response amid Somalia’s political uncertainty AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni pledged a restrained, experience-driven response to political shifts at home and abroad, warning that unilateral constitutional changes by Somalia’s Federal Government risk deepening divisions at a critical moment for the country’s statehood. Speaking to a youth forum in Garowe, the regional capital, Deni said Puntland State’s record since its formation will continue to guide…

OPINION | Israel’s move to recognize North Western State of Somalia did not create Somalia’s political crisis, but it revealed the country’s fault lines with unusual clarity. Instead of a unified response to an external challenge touching sovereignty and territorial integrity, the reaction laid bare fractures inside the federal system—most visibly in the silence of key federal member states and the central government’s tendency to turn unity into a political weapon. That silence has been most pronounced in Puntland State and…

Editorial | The recall of the U.S. ambassador to Somalia must trigger tougher, accountable engagement Washington’s recall of its ambassador to Somalia comes at a fraught juncture in Mogadishu—a familiar endgame in which the federal mandate under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nears expiration while no shared political or electoral framework is in place. That convergence is not coincidence; it is the pattern that has defined Somalia’s transition for years. The moment demands U.S. political leadership that matches the scale…

Op-Ed: Somalia’s Election Standoff Is a Referendum on Its Post-Transition State Somalia’s election standoff is not just another dispute over timelines or term limits. It is a referendum on the country’s post-transition order—and on whether the political norms forged during debt relief and state-building can withstand a powerful presidency. The opposition-aligned National Consultation Conference in Kismayo has accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of constitutional violations, governance failures, and abandoning the fight…

Somalia’s Kismaayo conference sets Jan. 20 deadline, rejects term extensions, warns of parallel political process KISMAAYO, Somalia — A three-day consultative conference in Kismaayo has issued a sweeping communiqué that sets Jan. 20, 2026, as a deadline for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to convene an inclusive national conference, rejects any extension of federal mandates and warns that Somalia risks slipping into parallel political processes if consensus is not restored. The meeting, held Dec. 18–20, brought together…

Somali Political Leaders Hold Closed-Door Talks in Kismayo KISMAYO, Somalia — Senior Somali political figures held closed-door meetings Friday at the Jubaland presidential palace in the southern city of Kismayo, in what participants described as a pivotal bid to shape the country’s political path and the 2026 elections. Officials briefed on the discussions said the talks centered on finalizing the structure and mandate of a proposed body called the Future Council of Somalia, which backers say is intended to guide the…