Somali cabinet sets priorities for new constitution implementation and election reform

Monday May 18, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Cabinet on Sunday examined a roadmap for putting the country’s new federal constitution into effect from 2026 to 2029, even as the government pushed ahead with reforms that prominent opposition figures have rejected.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre chaired the meeting in Mogadishu, where ministers discussed constitutional implementation, one-person, one-vote elections, government regulations, international agreements and the approval of national policy measures.

The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs presented the Constitution Implementation Plan, which outlines how the charter’s provisions are expected to be carried out over the next three years. According to the ministry, the plan is designed around Somalia’s political realities and the federal government’s institutional requirements.

The plan also sets out priority work for the next 12 months, including the creation and full operation of key bodies such as the Judicial Service Commission and the National Revenue Agency.

Barre said the constitution officially took effect after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed it and it was published in the official gazette. He added, however, that translating the document into practice will take time and depend on strong institutions, especially in public administration and service delivery.

The Cabinet was asked to endorse a resolution establishing the constitutional priorities to be completed over the coming year.

Ministers also received a briefing on one-person, one-vote elections recently conducted in several districts of South West State, along with the role of national media in awareness campaigns. They were further updated on political dialogue efforts led by the president in the run-up to the polls.

The constitutional process is unfolding amid an increasingly sharp political fight over Somalia’s transition. Mohamud’s four-year term was set to expire on May 15, 2026, but parliament approved constitutional amendments that extended federal institutions by one year and increased the presidential term from four years to five.

Opposition leaders have dismissed the changes, arguing that no valid political agreement exists to extend Mohamud’s mandate. The president, meanwhile, has said the mandate of federal institutions now runs until May 15, 2027, under the amended constitution and was not prolonged by personal decree.

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Mohamed Rabi Yusuf as deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

Ministers gave the green light to several other measures, including the National Policy for the Development of Sports in Somalia, regulations on the reintegration and unification of social insurance, an investment cooperation agreement between Somalia and Saudi Arabia, the renewal of an education agreement between Somalia and Turkey, and a law governing the administration of district councils in the Banadir region.

Together, the decisions underline the federal government’s determination to press on with institutional reform despite lingering objections over consensus, electoral legitimacy and the broader political transition.