MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – International partners have advised Somali president to settle his dispute with regional leaders and forge a broad-based consensus before advancing his contentious one-man, one-vote electoral system, for which he had asked their backing while challenging his opponents, opposition MP Abdirahman Abdishakur said on Thursday.
“The president asked the international community to support his agenda of election during an event we were both present, and to hold back regional states against it and politicians he described as spoilers,” said opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur, who is also the leader of Wadajir party.
“The international community urged him to resolve the differences with his people and implement a consensus-based election that ensures the nation’s security and stability, while progressively transitioning toward a one-person, one-vote system,” he added.
The opposition figure continued to add that the foreign ambassadors told President Mohamud that “the reports we send to our governments only differ in names and dates; the content remains unchanged. What is wrong with you, Somalis?”, referring to the persistent political turmoil, internal divisions, power struggles, rampant corruption and a lack of effective governance that continue to grapple the country despite successive administrations, with each President failing to break the cycle of mismanagement and dysfunction.
The question posed by foreign ambassadors to President Mohamud underscore the growing frustration of international partners with Somalia’s stagnant state-building efforts, intensified by donor fatigue after more than three decades of conflict. It brings to the forefront the pressing question of why the country remains unable to rebuild despite significant international support, revealing that the fundamental cause of Somalia’s persistent state failure is the absence of capable leadership. This continued failure cripples all efforts to secure a stable and prosperous future for the nation and to realize the long-suffered aspirations of the determined Somali people.
The international community has made it unequivocally clear that it will not back President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s push for a one-man, one-vote election, which many deem currently unfeasible given his limited control over the country. Critics view the move as an attempt to extend his tenure beyond the constitutional mandate. Should Mohamud attempt to pursue this agenda while sidelining the opposing Jubaland and Puntland states, it would be firmly rejected by international partners—who have long played a crucial role in nurturing Mogadishu’s fragile government and have provided critical support to ensure its survival amid the ongoing threat from the militant group Al-Shabaab.
In 2021, international partners played a pivotal role in halting former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s attempt to extend his term, rejecting his rationale for a one-man, one-vote election. Instead, they compelled him to conduct an indirect election, the same model that successive, weak, Western-backed Somali governments have followed since 2004. Faced with the threat of sanctions and visa restrictions, Farmajo ultimately yielded to the election model favored by international stakeholders. Should President Mohamud attempt to deviate from this path, he too could face similar repercussions.
As President Mohamud intensifies his lobbying for a one-man, one-vote election, the Jubaland administration in southern Somalia remains steadfast in holding its own indirect election on the 25th of this month, openly defying Mohamud’s attempts to undermine its process and derail its preferred election model. The Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe continues with a system that has secured him two terms, selecting largely unknown “best man” candidates, who are lured by financial incentives and promises of government positions, ensuring a largely uncontested outcome.
For President Mohamud, the conduct of an indirect election in Jubaland—contrary to his preferred one-man, one-vote model—could prove costly, potentially compelling him to revert to the same election process held in the Afisyoni tent in Mogadishu, a scenario he vowed to avoid in 2026. Mohamud is keenly aware that the Afisyoni model has historically failed to secure a sitting president’s return to office, and any such regression could deal a fatal blow to his political future and his ongoing efforts to extract financial gains from the system.
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