Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has asked the Supreme Court to annul amendments to the country’s provisional Constitution, rejecting the newly issued 2027 election calendar and warning that the unresolved dispute could trigger rival elections and civil conflict.
In a statement issued Thursday, Sharif called the timetable announced by the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) unilateral. He argued that both the constitutional changes and the electoral process had failed to meet legally required procedures.
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“The petition seeks to invalidate the disputed constitutional amendments and decisions arising from them,” he added.
Sharif cautioned that holding elections without a comprehensive political agreement could intensify divisions, weaken state institutions and produce competing claims to legitimate political authority.
He called on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to suspend unilateral measures and open negotiations with opposition leaders and the federal member states to reach a national understanding on the electoral process.
The former president also urged the Supreme Court to consider his constitutional petition independently and appealed to international partners to back a dialogue-based resolution to Somalia’s political crisis.
His statement followed an announcement by NIEBC Chairperson Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan that elections for both chambers of Somalia’s Federal Parliament would be held on April 15, 2027. The presidential vote is scheduled for May 15.
The commission said it had set the calendar in line with Somalia’s constitutional and electoral laws.
The timetable was issued as disagreements continue among the federal government, opposition groups and several federal member states over the electoral system and the mandates of national institutions.
Puntland State, Jubbaland and a number of opposition groups have rejected the revised Constitution. They insist that the 2012 provisional Constitution should continue to serve as the legal foundation for Somalia’s political process and forthcoming elections.
Talks between the federal government and opposition figures have so far failed to produce an agreement accepted by all parties.
The standoff has heightened questions over whether the elections can move forward with broad political participation and whether competing political forces will accept the results.
