President Deni Won’t Be ‘Bulldozer’ Against the Somali Federal Government

[Deeq A.]

President Said Abdullahi Deni weighs his position amid growing divisions within the Somali Future Council.

Mogadishu (Commentary) — Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has rejected pressure from the Somali Future Council to issue a congratulatory message to the former South West State President, Abdiaziz Laftagareen, who resigned today after forces aligned with the South West Salvation Council captured Baidoa, forcing the South West State President to resign. Laftagareen had organised a unilateral election in the city, which resulted in his controversial re-election as President of South West State.

President Deni was reportedly angered by the hasty congratulatory messages sent by key members of the Somali Future Council to Laftagareen without prior consultation or agreement on a unified position. This election was widely viewed as even more contentious than the process that initially brought Laftagareen to national prominence in December 2018.

Puntland and Jubaland have traditionally formed the institutional backbone of the Somali Future Council, while its Mogadishu-based members lack a comparable governing base at the Federal Member State level. The dispute over the unilateral election in South West State has exposed deeper divisions within the Council regarding how to respond to the electoral agenda of the incumbent Federal Government of Somalia. Once again, President Deni and Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam have taken divergent positions, reminiscent of the last-minute political manoeuvres seen during the election process on 15 May 2022.

President Deni appears determined not to be utilised as a political “bulldozer” against the Federal Government, particularly at a time when the outcome of the indirect electoral model, advocated by the Somali Future Council as a means to halt the Federal Government’s one-person, one-vote agenda, remains uncertain.

There are also indications that President Deni may reconsider Puntland’s membership in the Somali Future Council. This follows growing concerns over the links between the Haybad Qaran Alliance and Qatar, reportedly facilitated through Fahad Yasin, the former NISA Director. Both Fahad Yasin and Abdi Farah Shirdoon, Chairman of the Haybad Qaran Alliance, were among those who sent congratulatory messages to Laftagareen.

The Somali Future Council had previously coalesced around the principle of ensuring a transparent electoral process in South West State. With that consensus now in tatters, President Deni is reportedly exploring the possibility of engaging directly with Villa Somalia. This approach would reduce reliance on Mogadishu-based politicians whose influence is perceived to rest more on clan affiliations than on formal institutional authority.   

© Puntland Post, 2026