Somalia’s Election Standoff and New Inflection Point

Somalia’s Election Standoff and New Inflection Point

From The Horn by International Crisis Group

April 30, 2026 · 36 min · Season 7 · Episode 14

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of Somalia's election crisis and the tensions surrounding it.

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Omar Mahmood, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Somalia and the Horn of Africa, to discuss the deeper implications of Somalia’s new election crisis. They discuss the looming electoral standoff as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term is set to expire on 15 May, and why this latest dispute could prove more fateful than previous election crises. They unpack tensions between Mogadishu and federal member states over constitutional changes, elections and the future of Somalia’s federal system. They look at the looming end of the African Union stabilisation mission and what that will mean for coordinating collective support for the federal government’s war with Al-Shabaab. They discuss the rivalries among external powers and how these risk exacerbating Somalia’s own internal fissures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Alan

Guest: Omar Mahmood

Topics covered

  • Somalia election crisis
  • political tensions
  • federal system
  • African Union mission
  • internal rivalries
  • external powers

Keywords

  • Somalia
  • election crisis
  • Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
  • Mogadishu
  • Al-Shabaab
  • African Union
  • federal system
  • political tensions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crisis Group, Al-Shabaab

Places: Somalia, Mogadishu, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, African Union

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