Somalia opposition urges AUSSOM TCC leaders to back transitional council at Uganda Summit

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s opposition National Future Council on Monday called on the heads of state of countries contributing troops and police to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) to use their upcoming summit in Uganda to press for an inclusive political transition, arguing that the country’s unresolved election dispute has become the principal obstacle to national stability, counterterrorism efforts and continued international support.

In an open letter addressed to leaders expected to attend the Kampala summit later this month, the council said Somalia has entered “the most dangerous phase of its politics” following the expiry of the constitutional mandates of both the presidency and parliament without an agreed political framework to manage the transition. The opposition argued that resolving the country’s political crisis should be the foundation of any future international engagement with Somalia.

“Your Excellencies, you meet this month to consider the future of AUSSOM at a perilous moment for our country. The President’s constitutional term expired on 15 May 2026. The term of Parliament lapsed on 14 April 2026. There is still no political agreement in place to manage the transition that must follow. Somalia is now in the most dangerous phase of its politics, without a legitimate, agreed framework for who governs, and how,” the council said.

The National Future Council argued that Somalia’s current political deadlock has undermined years of security gains achieved with the support and sacrifice of African troop-contributing countries, saying the country’s internal divisions are weakening the national campaign against Al-Shabaab and Da’esh.

“The political fragmentation now unfolding in Somalia is the direct product of the mismanagement of a government whose mandate has expired. The Somali National Army, built with the support and sacrifice of African partners to defeat al-Shabaab and Da’esh, has been diverted from its constitutional mission of protecting the Somali people. Instead, growing political polarization has weakened national cohesion, sidetracked the common fight against terrorism, and eroded the unified national effort upon which lasting security depends. A fragmented state cannot successfully wage a unified campaign against transnational terrorism,” the letter said.

The council, whose members include former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former prime ministers, former federal government officials and the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland, also warned that deteriorating relations between Mogadishu and the two federal member states are further weakening Somalia’s fight against militant groups.

According to the letter, Puntland and Jubaland continue to maintain forces actively engaged against Al-Shabaab and Da’esh while controlling territories that remain on the front lines of the conflict. However, the council said those forces have been marginalized, denied support and directly targeted by the federal government despite carrying a substantial share of the country’s security burden.

“The forces most committed to the fight against terror are being weakened by Mogadishu, with the united national front this war demands being prevented from forming. Somalia cannot defeat two insurgencies while its government fights its own frontline states,” the council said.

The opposition coalition also linked Somalia’s political crisis to growing uncertainty surrounding the future of AUSSOM and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), saying the funding challenges facing the missions coincide with increasing hesitation among international partners.

“It is in this context that the funding crisis surrounding UNSOS and AUSSOM, and the growing hesitation of international donors is occurring. These challenges do not have their root in Africa’s commitment or in the design of the mission. The greatest challenge is the absence of a legitimate government the world can trust and engage with. No mission can substitute for a state, and no measure of foreign sacrifice can secure a country whose own leadership has forfeited its legitimacy,” the council said.

Presenting what it described as a peaceful and Somali-led solution, the National Future Council reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and compromise, proposing a comprehensive political agreement establishing an inclusive Transitional Council to oversee Somalia’s constitutional and electoral transition until legitimate national institutions are peacefully renewed.

The council said such a body would restore political legitimacy, rebuild public confidence, safeguard the neutrality of the Somali National Army and other state institutions, and ensure that the constitutional transition is conducted through an inclusive, transparent and credible process.

“The Somali Future Council wishes to assure that we remain fully committed to a peaceful, negotiated, and Somali-owned settlement, reached through dialogue and compromise rather than unilateral action. In that spirit, we submit that Somalia’s immediate priority is a comprehensive political agreement establishing an inclusive Transitional Council to provide collective oversight of the constitutional and electoral transition until legitimate national institutions are peacefully renewed. Such a body would restore political legitimacy, rebuild national confidence, safeguard the neutrality of the Somali National Army and all state institutions, and ensure the transition is managed in an inclusive, transparent, and credible manner,” the letter said.

Concluding its appeal, the National Future Council urged the heads of state and government of AUSSOM troop- and police-contributing countries to make political legitimacy and national consensus central to discussions at the Kampala summit, arguing that an inclusive political settlement is essential to restoring constitutional order and creating the conditions for sustainable security.

“We therefore respectfully urge the Heads of States and Governments of the Troop and Police Contributing Countries to use the Kampala Summit to encourage and support a political settlement that restores legitimacy, rebuilds national consensus, and establishes the conditions for a peaceful constitutional transition. Somalia urgently needs an inclusive political settlement, and this should be the condition and foundation of any continued engagement,” the council said.

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