Somalia sets parliamentary vote for April 2027 and presidential poll for May

Somalia's Independent National Elections and Boundaries Commission (INEBC) announced on Thursday that the country will hold parliamentary elections on 15 April 2027, followed by a presidential vote on 15 May 2027. The commission's chief, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, made the announcement on the state broadcaster.

What the commission said

The electoral body said the vote to elect a president was in line with a rule "which stipulates that the president's term of office is five years, beginning on the date the president is sworn into office".

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's second term, which began in 2022, ended earlier this year. His government declared a "transition period" through a constitutional amendment in May, despite an agreement with the opposition to hold elections. Opposition parties boycotted the vote on that amendment and have rejected the changes since.

Mohamud is pushing for party-based elections to replace a system of electing representatives through clan elders, a move critics call a power grab.

Opposition and analyst reaction

Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo called the decision to hold elections a "dangerous threat to Somalia's statehood and future" in a post on X, and urged agreement with all factions before any decision on the polls.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, another former president who previously led the opposition, warned that a "contested [electoral] process could lead to parallel elections" and even "civil conflict", according to AFP.

Analyst Samira Gaid told AFP there was "no political agreement to hold those elections", adding that the processes the government is starting are "leading to further fragmentation". She said the government was essentially made up of Mogadishu and "two or three allied member states", and that elections would lead to "conflict and more confrontation within the remaining federal member states".

In the capital Mogadishu, resident Omar Said told AFP: "Announcing an election schedule through a process driven by one side, and rejected by the opposition, is effectively declaring a new conflict."

The government welcomed the polling dates as an "important stage ... towards reinforcing the country's democratic system" and called on all parties to engage with the process peacefully and "in good faith".

Security and regional context

Mohamud told Al Jazeera earlier this month that Somalia still faced significant security challenges, although the al-Shabab group has no presence in major cities and there was little possibility of it taking control. Al-Shabab emerged from the Islamic Courts Union in the mid-2000s, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012, holds territory in parts of southern and central Somalia, and has carried out deadly attacks, including in Mogadishu and neighbouring Kenya.

Mohamud said the United States remained Somalia's strongest partner in the fight against "terrorism". He described relations with neighbouring Ethiopia as good, saying Mogadishu does not object to landlocked Addis Ababa gaining access to the sea through a joint agreement to use Somali ports. In January 2024, Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on sea access, which Somalia condemned as a violation of its sovereignty; the two countries later agreed to ease tensions.

Source: Al Jazeera.