Somali Supreme Court Strikes Down President's Term Extension and Reinstates Chief Justice

Somalia’s Supreme Court has invalidated President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s one-year term extension and overturned his dismissal of Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed. In rulings issued on Thursday, the court instructed political leaders to agree on an electoral framework within 30 days and to organize national elections within 90 days.

The court determined that constitutional amendments approved by parliament in March could not be applied retrospectively to extend the president’s four-year mandate, which expired in May. It also declared the dismissal of Chief Justice Ahmed null and void, ruling that the presidency lacked the authority to remove him from office. President Mohamud had appointed Ibrahim Idle Suleiman to replace Ahmed, citing complaints regarding the administration of justice.

Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire accused the presidency of deploying security forces to the Supreme Court compound in an attempt to detain Ahmed. Images circulating in Somali media showed armed personnel inside the court building, though the deployment was not independently verified. Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed endorsed the court's ruling and called on the president to adopt a consensus-driven approach to resolve the crisis.

The judicial decision conflicts with the schedule previously announced by the national electoral commission, which set parliamentary elections for 15 April 2027 and a presidential vote for May 2027. Opposition groups and the regional administrations of Puntland and Jubaland had already rejected that multi-year timeline. President Mohamud has called for national consultative talks between 14 and 18 November, but several opposition figures have questioned his legitimacy to convene the discussions.

The presidency maintains that constitutional changes are required to transition Somalia away from its traditional clan-based voting system toward direct universal suffrage, which the country has not conducted since 1969. The political dispute comes as state security forces remain engaged in military operations against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which controls broad rural areas across the country.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com