Somalia: Future Council Meets in Mogadishu Amid Rising Electoral Tensions

MOGADISHU, Somalia (GO) — Opposition politicians and leaders from Somalia’s federal member states of Puntland and Jubaland convened in Mogadishu on Saturday for consultations under the Somali Future Council, highlighting mounting political tensions ahead of the country’s approaching electoral deadlines.

The meeting took place at the Airport Hotel inside the fortified Halane compound, where the presidents of Puntland and Jubaland are based during their stay in the capital.

The talks come days after Somalia’s federal government — whose mandate is nearing its end — blocked several opposition figures from entering the Halane compound with their security details. Those affected included former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former prime ministers Mohamed Hussein Roble, Hassan Ali Khaire and Abdi Farah Shirdon Saacid, as well as opposition politician Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame.

The restrictions angered opposition groups and prompted Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre to visit some of the leaders at their residences, including Sheikh Sharif and Roble, in what officials described as an effort to ease tensions.

Presidents from Puntland and Jubaland traveled to Mogadishu to participate in a national political conference called by the Federal Government of Somalia, following recommendations made during a Somali Future Council conference held in Kismayo in December 2025. That earlier gathering urged federal authorities to convene an inclusive forum in Mogadishu to address electoral disputes and avert a potential political vacuum as federal institutions’ terms expire in April and May 2026.

According to sources familiar with the Airport Hotel meeting, Future Council leaders focused primarily on the need to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue, noting that meaningful engagement has yet to take shape. There was no discussion indicating a boycott or refusal to attend meetings at Villa Somalia; rather, participants stressed that confidence-building and an enabling environment for talks must be established first.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has not yet signaled readiness to join the consultations. He departed for Ethiopia a day earlier to attend an African Union summit, a move political observers say reflects competing priorities at a sensitive political juncture.

Analysts say the federal government appeared unprepared for the coordinated arrival and engagement of leaders from Puntland and Jubaland in Mogadishu.

The international community — a central partner in Somalia’s stabilization and state-building efforts — has so far remained publicly silent on the latest political developments.

GAROWE ONLINE