MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has invited members of the Somali Future Council – including the presidents of Jubaland and Puntland, and opposition leaders – to a banquet lunch on Tuesday at the Decale Hotel inside Mogadishu’s airport complex, in what appears to be a tentative step toward easing a deepening political impasse, Universal Somali TV reported on Monday.
The invitation followed President Mohamud’s return to Mogadishu on Monday from Ethiopia, where he attended the African Union summit.
The lunch is expected to lay the groundwork for formal talks between the council and the federal government aimed at breaking a deadlock over upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. The terms of both the president and Parliament are set to expire in less than three months, heightening urgency and anxiety across the political spectrum.
Officials at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace, say negotiations would open there. Council members have rejected that proposal, insisting instead on the heavily fortified Halane base within the airport perimeter. Halane, protected by African Union peacekeepers and home to foreign diplomatic missions, is viewed by council leaders as the only venue sufficiently secure and neutral for meaningful dialogue, beyond the reach of federal authority.
The dispute over the venue underscores broader mistrust. Leaders from Jubaland and Puntland say they cannot rely on the federal government for their safety, citing a protracted dispute that has periodically escalated into armed confrontations and remains unresolved. The standoff over where to meet has raised fears that the talks could collapse before they begin, with each side holding firmly to its position.
Jubaland and Puntland leaders have been in Mogadishu for more than a week without formal negotiations commencing. Rather than facilitating discussions, Villa Somalia has been accused of delaying meetings of the Somali Future Council at the airport by blocking other council figures – including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former prime ministers – from entering the airport.
Many analysts contend that the federal government is exerting sustained efforts that could doom the talks. Even if negotiations proceed, they argue, the prospects for a breakthrough on the electoral impasse appear slim.
Complicating matters further, Parliament is debating contentious amendments to several chapters of the Constitution. The current standoff stems in part from earlier amendments advanced by the government and approved by lawmakers, which the opposition is demanding be reversed. Moves by Villa Somalia to press ahead with additional constitutional changes are widely seen as further straining the atmosphere and discouraging Jubaland and Puntland leaders from engaging in dialogue.
The talks were convened by the prime minister Hamza Abdi Barre after sustained pressure from the international community, particularly the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, which also urged the two regional state leaders to travel to Mogadishu.
Should negotiations open, they are expected to unfold in a climate of palpable tension. With Villa Somalia pressing forward on what critics describe as a unilateral electoral process and constitutional revisions, expectations for a decisive breakthrough remain limited.
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