Hassan Sheikh draws line on UN role in Somalia elections

New York, USA — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged the United Nations and international partners to support the country’s move towards direct elections, while insisting Somalia retain ownership of the process amid a deepening political dispute.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Mohamud said constitutional reforms were laying the foundations for universal suffrage, accountable institutions and a multiparty political system.

“We invite the United Nations and our international partners to support this transition by helping to strengthen democratic institutions, but always respecting our ownership of Somali democracy,” he said.

His remarks came as the Somali Future Council has urged the UN Security Council to mediate the country’s election dispute and provide international oversight of the electoral process.

In a September 11 letter to the council, the opposition alliance called for international backing for an agreed electoral model.

It proposed a mediation and guarantee mechanism involving Security Council members and countries contributing troops to the African Union mission in Somalia.

The two positions reflect differing views over the extent of international involvement in resolving Somalia’s political deadlock. Mohamud welcomed international support for democratic institutions but framed the transition as a Somali-led process.

“Our aim is to become an effective democracy where differences are resolved through dialogue, law and elections, not violence,” he told the General Assembly.

Mohamud said his government had engaged Somali political leaders, federal member states, civil society, women’s groups, young people and the diaspora in the constitutional reform process.

Opposition leaders dispute the government’s handling of the transition and say previous attempts to negotiate an election settlement have failed.

Election deadlock

Further talks between the federal government and opposition groups ended without agreement in July after the two sides failed to bridge differences over the voting system and management of the next national elections.

Both sides support moving towards direct voting but remain sharply divided over how to conduct the elections.

The federal government favours elections through registered political parties under a national electoral commission.

The Future Council has proposed a transitional system that allows citizens to vote directly while retaining the 4.5-clan formula for allocating parliamentary seats.

At the heart of the standoff are constitutional amendments that parliament approved in March , increasing presidential and parliamentary terms from four to five years.

The Future Council has asked the Security Council to back an “inclusive and attainable election model” covering federal and regional institutions, as well as a mechanism to mediate and guarantee any political settlement.

Mohamud told the General Assembly that Somalia was entering what he described as a new democratic chapter in which citizens determine political power under the constitution and rule of law.

“This is a new progressive chapter where political power is determined by citizens, guided by constitutional law and safeguarded by the rule of law,” he said.

This version is tighter and more naturally wire-style while keeping the central contrast and all the useful election context.