Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Former Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known as Farmaajo, was kept out of the country’s main opposition coalition after influential members threatened to leave if he joined, a former foreign minister has said, exposing deep divisions among rivals of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud, who led negotiations on behalf of Farmaajo’s Peace and Life movement, known in Somali as N&N (N&N), said the former president had not rejected membership of the Somali Future Council.
Instead, he stepped aside to avoid breaking up the alliance, Mohamed Abdirizak said.
“There were members of the Future Council who said, ‘President Farmaajo cannot be part of us. If he joins, we will leave,’” he said in an interview.
“He was taking many things into consideration. He did not want the people who had come together to split apart,” he added.
“When it was said that everyone would gather in Kismayo, there was an outcry. The refusal did not come from our side.”
The remarks provide the clearest public account yet of why Farmaajo, who governed Somalia from 2017 to 2022, remained outside the coalition and joined recent talks with the federal government through a separate political platform.
Opposition fault lines
The Somali Future Council brings together former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former prime ministers, opposition politicians and the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland regional adminstrations.
The alliance has strongly opposed constitutional and electoral changes promoted by Hassan Sheikh’s government, accusing it of pushing through major reforms without broad political agreement.
But Mohamed Abdirizak said some members of the council also questioned whether Farmaajo’s movement could qualify as genuine opposition because some of its positions on direct elections overlap with those of the government.
“We are not the government, yet another opposition group says we are not opposition or that we cannot be part of them,” he said.
“We need no one’s permission to serve the public.”
He said N&N would continue to present its views independently, regardless of whether other opposition groups accepted them.
“We will deliver our message. We will debate anyone who wants to debate us,” he said.
“Whether we are close to others or not, we will continue on our path, and its outcome will be seen.”
The dispute has left Hassan Sheikh facing several opposition platforms rather than one united bloc.
Recent talks in Mogadishu led the government to hold separate consultations with the Somali Future Council, N&N, and other political groupings.
The discussions have focused on the election timetable, constitutional amendments and the rules governing Somalia’s next national vote.
The sides agreed to continue talking, but they have yet to reach a political settlement.
Rival direct-vote plans
The federal government says it wants to replace Somalia’s indirect clan-based electoral system with one-person, one-vote elections.
Under the existing arrangement, clan elders and selected delegates play a central role in choosing members of parliament.
Somalia has not held a universal direct national election since 1969, while the 4.5 clan power-sharing formula has shaped successive political transitions for more than two decades.
The Future Council accepts the principle of direct elections but accuses the government of pursuing the plan without national consensus.
N&N has also supported moving towards direct voting and argues that the principle reflects electoral plans developed during Farmaajo’s presidency.
The movement, however, remains at odds with the government over the timetable, the legal framework and the level of political agreement required before implementation.
Mohamed Abdirizak said that on certain electoral questions, the gap between N&N and the Future Council was wider than the distance between his movement and the federal government.
That overlap does not point to a formal alliance between Farmaajo and Villa Somalia.
But it could give Hassan Sheikh more room to negotiate separately with rival opposition camps and make it harder for his opponents to build a common front.
A familiar dispute
Somalia has faced similar political turmoil before.
During Farmaajo’s presidency in 2021, the lower house of parliament backed a two-year mandate extension after leaders failed to agree on an election model.
The move triggered armed confrontations in Mogadishu before political leaders abandoned the extension and returned to an indirect election.
The delayed vote eventually ended in May 2022, when lawmakers elected Hassan Sheikh to a second term.
The latest electoral dispute has again raised tensions in the capital, where government troops and opposition-linked fighters have clashed.
International partners have urged Somali leaders to settle their differences through peaceful dialogue and avoid a return to armed confrontation.
The split over Farmaajo’s place in the opposition now shows that the government’s rivals remain divided not only over election strategy, but also over who can speak in the name of the opposition.
While they broadly agree that Somalia should not change its political system without wider consultation, they remain far apart on leadership, alliances and the route towards direct elections.
