FILE PHOTO: Former Somali president and opposition leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed attends a consultation meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mo...
FILE PHOTO: Former Somali president and opposition leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed attends a consultation meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and opposition leaders at Decale Hotel in Mogadishu on July 13, 2023. (Somalia Today/File, July 13, 2023.)
Kismayo (Somalia Today) — A high-stakes conference of Somalia’s opposition leaders hit a stumbling block on Friday as a rift emerged over who should lead a newly formed alliance challenging President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, threatening to fracture the front before it can fully form.
The gathering in the southern port city of Kismayo, hosted by Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe, was intended to present a united front against what critics call President Mohamud’s “authoritarian” attempt to rewrite the constitution and extend his term.
However, sources close to the talks told Somalia Today that the conference has been temporarily suspended following a heated dispute over the leadership of the proposed “Council for the Future of Somalia.”
According to insiders, a proposal to appoint former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as the Council’s chairman triggered an immediate backlash from other political heavyweights.
The objections were led by influential figures from the Hawiye clan, including former Prime Ministers Hassan Ali Khaire and Mohamed Hussein Roble, and veteran politician Abdirahman Abdishakur.
These leaders reportedly rejected Sharif’s appointment, arguing that the Council cannot be led by an active presidential candidate. They insisted the role must go to a neutral figure who is not vying for the top office in the upcoming elections, sources said.
Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe and former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon have thrown their weight behind Sharif.
Madobe reportedly argued it would be a “disgrace” to strip Sharif of the leadership role after his “fierce struggle” against President Mohamud’s unilateral constitutional changes—a stance Madobe noted had cost Sharif political capital within his own constituency.
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The position of Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, another key powerbroker at the summit, remains unclear.
While the chairmanship remains contested, negotiators reached a preliminary consensus to appoint Engineer Abdullahi Abukar Haji (Arab) as the Council’s Secretary General.
The internal squabbling comes just a day after the opposition opened the summit with blistering rhetoric against the federal government in Mogadishu.
Sharif, who led Somalia’s transitional government, had warned on Thursday that the country was “sliding back into authoritarianism,” accusing President Mohamud of forcing through constitutional amendments to stay in power beyond his four-year mandate.
“The current parliament cannot extend its own term,” Sharif told delegates, calling any extension illegitimate.
Puntland’s Deni also delivered a stark warning, cautioning that “fragmentation” was inevitable if the federal government refused to engage in genuine dialogue.
The conference has now paused its formal sessions to allow for intense backroom lobbying.
Jubaland’s Madobe is reportedly holding a series of private meetings with faction leaders on Friday night to salvage the agreement and finalise the Council’s structure, which observers say is still undefined amid conflicting views within the wider “Salvation Forum.”
The opposition is under pressure to present a credible alternative to President Mohamud’s administration, which is pushing ahead with a “one-person, one-vote” electoral model.
The government in Mogadishu has dismissed the Kismayo gathering as obstructionist, with Interior Minister Ali “Hosh” Yusuf accusing the attendees of fearing democratic progress.
The stakes are high. If the opposition fails to coalesce, President Mohamud may face little resistance in implementing his electoral calendar, starting with local elections in the Banadir region scheduled for December 25—a vote the opposition has branded “political theatre.”
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