Former Mogadishu Mayor’s Party Splits from Opposition Coalition, Citing ‘Irresponsible’ Transition Plan

MOGADISHU – The Awoodda Shacabka (People’s Power) party, led by former Mogadishu mayor Thabit Abdi Mohamed, has withdrawn from the Haybad Qaran (National Dignity) political alliance, citing fundamental disagreements over the opposition’s increasingly vocal push for an interim administration. The departure deals a blow to the coalition and exposes growing fractures within the opposition camp over how to resolve the country’s deepening political crisis.

In a statement released on August 1, Awoodda Shacabka said it had been a founding member of the Haybad Qaran Alliance, which brought together 10 political parties and platforms under the belief that cooperation could produce a national solution rooted in consultation, governance, and the will of the Somali people. The party said it had consistently offered advice and vision based on national stability and unity, and had always preferred dialogue and consensus, believing that political disputes should be resolved through peaceful means and Somali-led dialogue.

A Coalition Fractures Over the Transitional Government Proposal

The party’s departure follows Haybad Qaran’s decision to align itself with the Somali Future Council (Golaha Mustaqbalka Soomaaliyeed), an opposition coalition that has proposed a Transitional Direct Elections Model (TDEM) that would maintain the 4.5 clan power-sharing system while introducing direct voting for parliamentary representatives. The Somali Future Council has argued that Somalia has entered a dangerous constitutional phase, maintaining that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s constitutional mandate expired on May 15, 2026, and Parliament’s term ended on April 14, 2026.

Awoodda Shacabka singled out a letter issued by the Somali Future Council on July 28, 2026, which called for the establishment of an inclusive transitional governing authority. The party described the proposal as “irresponsible” and warned that it risked reversing 15 years of state-building progress. “The recent letter from the Future Council of July 28, 2026, in which they wrote that a transitional council should take over the country’s leadership, was irresponsible and would set Somalia’s formal statehood back 15 years,” the statement read. The party also criticised Haybad Qaran for failing to take a clear position on the proposal.

Thabit Mohamed: A Principled Stand or a Calculated Exit?

Thabit Mohamed, who leads Awoodda Shacabka and previously served as the Governor of Banadir Region, has been a vocal critic of the transitional government proposal. In a post on X, he argued that statehood cannot be easily discarded or returned to a transitional arrangement, and that accepting the weakening of the country’s legal and institutional framework would set the nation back 15 years. “Statehood is not something that can be easily discarded or returned to transitional arrangements, nor can we accept that the laws of our statehood be weakened, only to later seek recognition and a new system. That would be a major setback, setting the country back 15 years if a transitional council were to be established to take over the country’s leadership,” he wrote.

He called instead for dialogue with the current leadership, whose mandate is disputed, and for a compromise between the two sides. “Political disputes can be resolved if dialogue and consensus are prioritised, as Somalia’s sovereignty and the existence of its statehood are greater than the political disputes among us,” he said.

A Pattern of Opposition Fragmentation

The withdrawal of Awoodda Shacabka is the latest sign of fragmentation within Somalia’s opposition. The Nabad iyo Nolol party, led by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, has also rejected the transitional government proposal, arguing that it would undermine the country’s hard-won political progress. Former Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirisaq, a senior member of Nabad iyo Nolol, described the proposal as “a political setback” and insisted that political disagreements should be resolved through dialogue and consensus.

The Somali Future Council’s proposal has drawn criticism from other opposition figures, including former Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow and former Mogadishu Mayor Thabit Mohamed, who argued that replacing existing institutions with an unelected transitional body could weaken Somalia’s fragile statehood and reverse years of institutional progress. The strongest government reaction came from Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, who forcefully rejected the proposal and accused the Future Forum of seeking to dismantle Somalia’s constitutional order.

Way Forward

Awoodda Shacabka’s withdrawal from Haybad Qaran is a sign of a political development that underscores the growing divisions within Somalia’s opposition over the path forward. The party’s insistence on dialogue and compromise, while principled, does not offer a clear alternative to the transitional government proposal it rejects. Without a credible plan to break the political deadlock, the opposition risks remaining fragmented and ineffective, while the federal government continues to assert its authority in the face of mounting challenges.

For the Somali people, the debate over transitional governance is not merely an academic exercise. It is a question of whether the country’s hard-won gains in state-building will be preserved or undone by a political class that has yet to demonstrate the capacity to resolve its differences through dialogue. The withdrawal of Awoodda Shacabka, while politically significant, does not bring the country any closer to a resolution. The question remains whether Somalia’s political leaders can find a way to reconcile their differences before the country’s fragile institutions are further weakened.