ARTA, Djibouti (SONNA) – President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of the Federal Republic of Somalia delivered a foundational speech on Friday at the 25th-anniversary commemoration of the Arta Reconciliation Conference in Djibouti, calling for a systemic overhaul of Somali politics.
The President argued for a decisive shift away from a political culture centered on individuals and personalities toward a stable framework built on enduring, predictable institutions.
Addressing an audience of dignitaries, including Djiboutian President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, President Mohamud diagnosed the long-standing challenges of Somali governance, asserting that a system reliant on individuals is inherently unstable.
“We want to reform Somalia’s politics,” President Mohamud stated. “We need to establish a political system based on institutions and organizations, and move beyond the politics based on the individual.”
He elaborated on the flaws of a person-centric model, noting that individuals are, by their nature, changeable and impermanent.
“A person is not constant,” the President explained. “The person I am this morning, I could be a different person by the afternoon. The person I was yesterday, I could be a different one today. Circumstances can change me.”
He dismissed the political discourse of “we want so-and-so” or “Ali was better” as counter-productive to nation-building. “That will not benefit us,” he stressed.
In contrast, President Mohamud championed a future where Somali politics is anchored in robust institutions with clear principles.
“A known political institution has its principles and its policies set in place. It has explained and ‘sold’ its vision to the Somali people,” he said. The primary benefit of such a system, he added, is stability: “It is not easy to change.”
The setting for the speech was deeply symbolic. The Arta Reconciliation Conference, hosted by Djibouti in 2000, was the historic event that re-established the first formal Somali government institutions after the state’s collapse in 1991.
President Mohamud praised the host nation, Djibouti, as a regional example of the stability he seeks for Somalia, noting its “political maturity and established institutions.”
“Today, Somalia has set its foot on this same road,” President Mohamud declared, signaling his administration’s commitment to this path.
He framed this institutional reform as the essential next step for the nation, allowing it to “move beyond person-centric politics and clan-based politics.” This structural change, he suggested, is the necessary foundation for completing Somalia’s constitutional review process and achieving the long-term goal of a universal “one person, one vote” electoral system.
The President’s address in Arta serves as a clear articulation of his vision for a new Somali republic, one governed by resilient systems and the rule of law rather than the shifting fortunes of individual leaders.
