Somalia declares ‘transition period’ as presidential mandate ends without deal

Somalia’s government said it was in a “transition period” after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term ended Friday without an agreement with the opposition on holding elections.

Mohamud has been attempting to move Somalia towards democratic elections, replacing a system based around clan elders.

But with the country deeply divided between rival clans, and much of it under the control of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist insurgent group, there has been little progress on organising elections beyond a few localised pockets.

Opposition and regional leaders have strongly opposed Mohamud’s plan, seeing it as an attempt to centralise power.

Talks between the opposition and government were held in recent days and continued on Friday, encouraged by foreign diplomats led by teams from Britain and the United States, but failed to lead to a compromise.

The government “declares that the country has entered a transition period toward an inclusive democratic system based on the principle of universal suffrage,” it said in a statement.

“Over the past three days, the Government has also engaged in discussions with certain opposition figures who presented positions that, according to the Government, contradict the fundamental right of citizens to vote and to stand for election,” it added.

The opposition parties may now organise their own “parallel political process”, appointing new members of parliament to put pressure on the president, said Abdirahman Dahir Osman, spokesman for the Movement for Change party.

“It is also possible that tensions could escalate into armed confrontation,” he told AFP.

Mohamud argues he was given an extra year in the presidency when a new constitution was passed by parliament in March that set the framework for elections.

But opposition parties boycotted that vote and have rejected the changes.

Previous presidents have also stayed in office beyond their mandates.

The last president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, stayed more than a year in office after the official end of his mandate in 2021, triggering protests and condemnation from the international community.

By Agencies