MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – As the new year dawns, Somalia reflects on a turbulent 2024, defined by political instability and power struggles driven by leaders’ unchecked ambition, Professor Afyare Abdi Elmi said on Monday.
He identified several key factors behind the country’s political turmoil, including the government’s winner-takes-all approach, attempts to alter the constitution, efforts to stifle political space through self-serving electoral, party, and commission laws, a disjointed foreign policy, and a fragmented opposition unable to hold the government accountable.
The professor noted that Somalia enters 2025 deeply polarized, with hopes that the year will serve as a turning point, where the government learns from its mistakes, corrects its misguided political course, and embraces reconciliation.
With 2024 now behind it, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has completed more than 2.5 years of his presidency, leaving uncertainty about whether the remaining 1.5 years will allow him to achieve what eluded him in the previous years.
