Somalia says it will hold elections in 2027

What the report says

Somalia’s election commission has announced a timetable for parliamentary and presidential elections in 2027, according to Al Jazeera. The Independent National Elections and Boundaries Commission said on state television that lower- and upper-house parliamentary votes are planned for April 15, 2027, followed by a presidential election on May 15. The commission said the presidential contest would follow a constitutional rule that the office runs for five years from the day the president is sworn in.

The announcement comes amid a dispute over the political roadmap. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s second term began in 2022, and his government later declared a transition period through a constitutional amendment passed in May, despite earlier understandings with opposition groups on elections. Opposition parties boycotted that amendment and continue to reject it. Mohamud has been pressing for party-based elections to replace the long-standing clan-elder system, but critics say the move concentrates power in Mogadishu.

Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo said the decision posed a serious threat to Somalia’s statehood, while another former president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, warned that a disputed process could trigger parallel elections and even conflict. The government, by contrast, welcomed the timetable as a step toward strengthening democracy. Analysts and some Mogadishu residents also expressed concern that the process lacks a broad political agreement and could deepen fragmentation in a country already dealing with insecurity and the ongoing threat from al-Shabab.