Somalia’s top court voids president’s term extension

Somalia’s Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 5, 2026, that constitutional amendments extending the terms of the president and parliament are void and ordered elections within 90 days, after which security forces moved into the court’s compound in Mogadishu, according to Somali and regional outlets.

The ruling is the sharpest legal challenge yet to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s hold on office, and the court gave political leaders 30 days to agree on an electoral framework. The government’s position is that the changes, approved by parliament in March, let the president and lawmakers stay in office until 2027.

Five judges, without the chief justice, issued the judgment, which was registered as MS/DST/1/2026, allAfrica reported. The court held that the amendments, which lengthened the terms of the president and parliament from four years to five, could not be applied to the current officeholders. It also said parliament approved them after its own mandate had expired, the Somali Guardian reported, and that the president and his government were acting only in a caretaker capacity.

The ruling came a day after Mohamud dismissed Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed on Nov. 4 and named Ibrahim Idle Suleiman, a former legal adviser to the president, to replace him. The presidency has said the removal followed complaints from judges, court staff and lawyers about the administration of justice. The five judges later declared the dismissal null and void, saying the constitutional procedure for removing a chief justice was not followed, allAfrica reported.

Shortly after the verdict was read, security forces arrived at the court in more than 30 military pickup trucks and forced the chief justice out of the complex, the Somali Guardian reported. Baashe told Al Jazeera that security forces had seized the court. The presidency had not publicly responded to his security complaints when Garowe Online reported on them.

Speaking at a news conference in Mogadishu on Nov. 7, Baashe said he no longer felt safe in the capital. “Today, only those carrying weapons can feel safe in Mogadishu,” he said, according to Garowe Online. He and the five judges have reportedly taken refuge at the Mogadishu home of former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed after their protection teams were withdrawn.

Sharif leads the Somali Future Council, an opposition coalition of former leaders. It welcomed the ruling and condemned what it called an assault and coup against the court, allAfrica reported. The government says the constitutional changes give it a legal basis to remain in office. Reports of the court seizure come mainly from opposition-aligned and regional outlets, and the government’s account of events has not been widely published.

The dispute follows months of argument over how Somalia’s next election will be run. In October, Somalia set a May 15, 2027, presidential vote amid a dispute with opposition leaders. The country’s security is also in flux, as Uganda began pulling troops from Somalia after two decades.

For Canadians, the standoff matters because Global Affairs Canada tells travellers to avoid all travel to Somalia, citing a volatile security situation and the high threat of terrorism. Its advisory was last updated on Oct. 15, 2026. Canada is also home to a large Somali diaspora, many of whom follow the country’s politics closely.

The next marker is the 30-day window the court set for leaders to agree on an electoral framework, which would end around Dec. 5 if counted from the ruling. Whether the government recognizes the judgment at all remains unclear.

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