Somalia’s Supreme Court Rules President’s Term Extension Unlawful and Orders Elections Within 90 Days

Somalia’s Supreme Court has ruled that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s extension of his time in office is unlawful, and ordered the country to hold elections within 90 days. The decision, handed down on Thursday, 5 November 2026, has thrown the Horn of Africa nation into its deepest political crisis in years, setting the presidency against the judiciary at a time when the country is still fighting an Islamist insurgency and struggling to organise its first direct elections in decades.

The court’s five judges said the president’s four-year term had already ended on 15 May 2026, and that parliament’s term had ended a month earlier, on 14 April. That means, in the court’s view, both the president and the parliament have been sitting without a legal mandate for months. The judges also threw out the president’s dismissal of the country’s chief justice, calling it null and void, after the president sacked him just one day before the ruling was announced.

The decision is a direct challenge to President Mohamud’s plans. His government had argued that constitutional changes approved earlier this year gave him an extra year in office, until May 2027, so he could prepare nationwide elections. The court disagreed. It said the changes could not be applied backwards to leaders who were already in office.

What the court decided

The heart of the case was a simple question: can a change to the constitution give current leaders more time in office? The court said no.

In March 2026, Somalia’s parliament approved a revised constitution. President Mohamud signed it into law four days later, on 8 March. Among other changes, the new constitution extended presidential and parliamentary terms from four years to five years. The government said this meant the president could stay in office until May 2027 while the country prepared for elections.

The Supreme Court rejected that argument. The judges said the longer terms could only apply to officials already in office if the constitution said so clearly. It did not. The court therefore ruled that the old four-year terms still applied to the current leaders — and those terms had already expired.

The ruling went further. The court declared that measures taken by the presidency, parliament and government under their constitutional powers after those expiry dates were “unconstitutional, unlawful and null and void”. Only the cabinet could remain in place, and only as a caretaker government, with its powers limited to day-to-day duties. In plain terms: the government can keep the country running, but it cannot take big new decisions.

The court also set two deadlines. Political leaders have 30 days to agree on a workable electoral framework based on consensus. Elections must then be held within 90 days — a deadline that falls in early February 2027.

The judges did not name a replacement president, and they did not say what would happen if the deadlines were missed. That silence leaves big questions about what comes next.

The chief justice row

The ruling came in the middle of an open clash between the president and the judiciary. On Wednesday, 4 November — the day before the judgment — President Mohamud dismissed Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed. The presidency said the dismissal followed complaints about the administration of justice and the need for judicial reform. The president then appointed a former chief justice, Ibrahim Idle Suleiman, to replace him.

The Supreme Court rejected the move in a separate decision, declaring the dismissal null and void. The judges said the president had no authority to remove the chief justice on his own, and accused him of violating the constitution and trying to obstruct the court’s review of the term extensions.

Opposition figures went further. Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire accused the president of deploying troops to the court’s premises and pursuing the chief justice and lawyers for arrest. That claim has not been independently verified, but it shows how bitter the standoff has become.

The five judges who handed down the verdict were led by Justice Salah Sheikh Ibrahim Dhiblawe, who chaired the panel. The other judges were Abukar Ahmed Ali, Abdulkadir Idiris Eise, AbdulAsis Mohamed Yusuf and Abdulqafar Hussein Isaq. Chief Justice Ahmed did not sit on the panel.

How the case reached the court

The case was brought by former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who filed his challenge on 11 October 2026. He asked the court to overturn the constitutional amendments and the decisions taken under them, arguing that they were being used to keep the current leadership in power beyond its legal term.

The bench heard the challenge under Article 191 of the revised constitution. Its judgment treated two questions separately: whether the amendment process itself was valid, and whether the new five-year terms could be applied to leaders already in office. On the second question, the answer was a clear no.

The dispute has been building for months. Somalia’s electoral commission set out a timetable in October, scheduling elections to both houses of parliament for 15 April 2027 and a presidential vote for 15 May 2027. But opposition groups and two powerful federal member states, Puntland and Jubaland, reject that timetable. They argue the federal government is trying to control the process on its own terms, while the government says it is working towards the country’s first direct, one-person-one-vote elections in decades.

That background explains why the court’s 90-day deadline is so disruptive. It cuts across the electoral commission’s 2027 timetable entirely, and it gives Somalia’s divided politicians just one month to agree on rules they have failed to agree on for years.

Why this matters for Somalia

Somalia is a country where politics is never just about politics. The federal government is still fighting al-Shabab, the Islamist militant group that controls parts of the countryside and carries out regular bombings in Mogadishu. A political crisis at the top can weaken the security effort, as rival leaders argue over who has the right to give orders.

The crisis also matters for ordinary Somalis. The country is one of the poorest in the world, and millions of people depend on aid. Donors and international partners watch closely for signs of instability, and a long standoff between the presidency and the courts could slow aid, investment and the rebuilding of state institutions.

There is also the question of the constitution itself. Somalia has been working on a permanent constitution since its provisional constitution was adopted in 2012. The amendments at the centre of this case were part of that long process. The court’s ruling that parliament approved them after its own mandate had expired raises awkward questions about what else done in recent months may now be legally uncertain.

For the region, the stakes are high too. Somalia sits on the Horn of Africa, next to busy shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. Its neighbours — Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti — and international partners including the African Union, the United Nations and the United States all have an interest in a stable Somalia. A disputed presidency and a disputed election timetable are the opposite of that.

What happens next

The next 30 days will decide whether the court’s ruling leads to a negotiated way forward or a deeper crisis. The judges have told political leaders to agree on an electoral framework by consensus. That means the president, the opposition, parliament and the federal member states must sit down together — something they have repeatedly failed to do.

Three paths are possible. The first is a deal: the rival sides agree on election rules and a timetable, and the vote goes ahead within the court’s 90-day window. The second is delay: the deadlines slip, the caretaker government stays in place, and the crisis drags on while the courts and the presidency argue over who is in charge. The third is confrontation: the president refuses to accept the ruling, the courts insist on it, and the standoff spills onto the streets.

Much will depend on whether President Mohamud accepts the judgment. So far there has been no sign of him stepping aside, and his government has continued to argue that the constitutional changes give him until May 2027. The court’s declaration that his government is now only a caretaker administration is something his supporters are unlikely to accept quietly.

International pressure may also play a role. Somalia’s partners have long pushed for elections that all sides accept. They may now push harder for talks, since a disputed vote — or no vote at all — would leave the country without a clearly legitimate government.

The clock is now ticking. The 30-day deadline for an electoral deal falls in early December, and the 90-day election deadline falls in early February 2027. For a country that has not held a direct nationwide election in more than half a century, that is an extremely tight timetable. Whether Somalia’s leaders can meet it — or even agree to try — will shape the country’s future for years to come.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly did Somalia’s Supreme Court rule?

The court ruled that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term expired on 15 May 2026 and parliament’s term expired on 14 April 2026. It said constitutional changes extending terms from four to five years cannot be applied to leaders already in office, so the extension was unlawful. It ordered political leaders to agree on an electoral framework within 30 days and hold elections within 90 days.

Who brought the case?

Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed filed the challenge on 11 October 2026, asking the court to overturn the constitutional amendments and the decisions made under them.

What happened to the chief justice?

President Mohamud dismissed Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed on 4 November 2026, the day before the ruling, and appointed former chief justice Ibrahim Idle Suleiman in his place. The Supreme Court declared the dismissal null and void, saying the president had no authority to remove the chief justice on his own.

Can the government still run the country?

Yes, but only as a caretaker. The court said the cabinet could remain in place with authority limited to day-to-day duties. It cannot take major new policy decisions.

When were elections supposed to happen?

The electoral commission had scheduled parliamentary elections for 15 April 2027 and a presidential vote for 15 May 2027. The court’s ruling orders elections within 90 days instead, a deadline in early February 2027.

Why does this matter beyond Somalia?

Somalia is fighting the al-Shabab insurgency, depends heavily on foreign aid, and sits in a strategically important part of the Horn of Africa. A political crisis at the top can weaken security, slow aid and unsettle the whole region.

Conclusion

Somalia’s Supreme Court has drawn a clear line: the president’s term is over, the extension is unlawful, and elections must happen within 90 days. But a court ruling is only the start. Somalia’s leaders now have one month to agree on how to hold those elections — and a long history of failing to agree. Whether they can put the country ahead of their rivalry will decide not just who governs Somalia, but whether the country can hold together through one of the most testing moments in its recent history.

For more on Somalia’s road to elections, see our earlier report on Somalia opening party registration ahead of planned direct elections in 2027.

Sources

• Associated Press (via Reflector) — https://www.reflector.com/news/national/somalia-s-top-court-rules-president-s-term-extension-is-unlawful-deepening-power-struggle/article_212d5f44-2490-5f34-ba9c-551908b2df2a.html
• Addis Standard, reporting AFP — https://addisstandard.com/brief/n-60996/
• The Ghana Report — https://theghanareport.com/somalias-top-court-rejects-presidents-term-extension-amid-political-crisis/
• Somalia Today — https://somaliatoday.com/news/somalia-supreme-court-rejects-presidents-term-extension-2026-11-05/
• Somali Guardian — https://www.somaliguardian.com/news/somalia-news/somalia-supreme-court-nullifies-constitutional-amendments-orders-elections-90-days/
• Horn Post — https://www.hornpost.com/somalia-supreme-court-ruling-election-deadline/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.