On 27 May 2023, after three days of meeting in Mogadishu, members of the National Consultative Council (NCC) – with the exception of Puntland – issued a communique and a new agreement focused on democratization. As in the previous NCC meeting in March, Puntland President Deni was not in attendance. The NCC communique applauded recent military successes against al-Shabaab and the preparations for the second phase of operations. It also emphasized the need to accelerate fiscal governance reforms as part of a continuation of the debt relief process, and highlighted agreement on elections detailed in a separate document.

This detailed agreement on national and sub-national elections is perhaps the most ambitious democratization roadmap in Somalia’s history and has introduced some radical changes to the Somali dispensation. It has generated a range of reactions across the Somali landscape, including criticism from certain quarters. In response to this controversial agreement, this policy paper analyses the key components of the controversial NCC election agreement, highlighting theprospects and challenges for its implementation.