Former Somali Presidents Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo faced a setback on Tuesday as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declined their mediation attempts to address the ongoing conflict with Puntland State Leader Said Abdullahi Deni.
In a joint press release, Farmaajo and Sharif revealed that they had previously reached an agreement with President Mohamud to suspend discussions on constitution amendment for two weeks, allowing room for dialogue.
Regrettably, their voluntary role as mediators seems to have faltered, as they received no response from President Mohamud, as stated in the press release posted on Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s Facebook page.
The mediation efforts were initiated to put an end to the prolonged political discord between Mohamud and Deni, which emerged following Mohamud’s election in May 2022.
Two years ago, Deni openly supported Mohamud during the final round of the national presidential elections, resulting in Mohamud’s victory over the incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.
At that time, it was widely speculated that Mohamud would appoint Deni or one of his close associates as Prime Minister, but those expectations were not fulfilled.
Since then, Said Deni, the leader of Puntland, has boycotted the latest National Consultative Forums and has opposed every step taken by Mohamud’s government, including recent debt relief efforts.
Despite the strained relations, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accepted an invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Puntland State leaders in Garowe last month. Analysts hoped that Mohamud’s participation in the ceremony would pave the way for constructive talks and the resolution of the long-standing political conflict.
Interestingly, former Presidents Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, and Said Deni are leading the rejection of the current parliamentary debate and efforts to amend the initial four chapters of the Provisional Constitution this week.
