Tuesday, March 10, 2026
MOGADISHU — Somalia’s opposition-aligned Somali Future Council on Monday warned against any postponement of the country’s 2026 national elections, citing constitutional deadlines and the risk of renewed instability if timelines slip.
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In a statement, the council said the term of the Federal Parliament under the 2012 provisional constitution ends on April 14, 2026, while the president’s mandate expires on May 15, 2026. It urged authorities to keep the electoral calendar intact to safeguard the constitutional order and public confidence in state institutions.
“Somalia must avoid actions that could lead to electoral delays or political disputes,” the council said, calling on federal leaders, politicians and other stakeholders to respect the constitution and uphold the system of governance.
The warning comes days after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed a revised federal constitution into law following parliamentary approval. The updated charter sets five-year terms for federal institutions, replacing the previous four-year limit in the 2012 provisional constitution — a change government officials frame as part of a long-delayed effort to clarify institutional mandates and complete Somalia’s constitutional review.
Opposition figures, including members of the Somali Future Council, argue the amendments were adopted without sufficient national consensus and could alter the political timetable. The council’s statement underscores concern that shifting legal benchmarks so close to critical deadlines could reopen fault lines in Somalia’s fragile political settlement.
The council invoked the 2021 political crisis — when a dispute over a proposed term extension triggered tensions and security unrest in Mogadishu — as a cautionary example. It urged both federal and regional leaders to avoid steps that might invite a repeat of that destabilizing standoff.
Reinforcing its call for timely, orderly balloting, the Somali Future Council asked federal member states to conduct their own elections in line with constitutional principles and the federal framework, saying that doing so would strengthen cooperation, legitimacy and trust across levels of government.
Key dates and provisions at a glance:
- Parliament’s term ends April 14, 2026 (per the 2012 provisional constitution).
- The president’s mandate expires May 15, 2026.
- Somalia’s revised federal constitution, signed into law last week, sets five-year terms for federal institutions, up from four years previously.
- The Somali Future Council urges adherence to existing deadlines and warns against measures that could delay the electoral process.
Somalia’s leadership has pursued constitutional changes to close gaps in a patchwork system that has evolved over a decade of transitional arrangements. Supporters say codifying five-year terms can inject predictability into governance and reduce recurrent brinkmanship over mandates. Critics counter that the review process has unfolded unevenly, with insufficient buy-in from key political constituencies and without adequately addressing sequencing questions in the electoral calendar.
With just weeks until the first mandate deadline, the council framed the period ahead as a “critical phase” demanding restraint, political tolerance and adherence to the rule of law. The appeal appears calibrated to influence both legal interpretation and political behavior as institutions navigate overlapping timelines, newly approved constitutional language and the practical mechanics of holding synchronized votes in a complex federal system.
Against a backdrop of persistent security threats and fiscal pressures, Somali stakeholders face a familiar test: whether rival centers of power can negotiate contested rules without tipping into confrontation. The Somali Future Council’s intervention adds pressure on the federal government and regional administrations to publicly clarify timelines, procedures and dispute-resolution mechanisms that can keep the electoral process on track — and avoid repeating the costly missteps of 2021.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
