Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday signed a disputed new constitution into law, with his government saying the move ends more than a decade of provisional rule.
But opponents condemned the step as a unilateral power grab that could deepen the country’s political crisis ahead of delayed elections.
Standing alongside the speakers of both houses of parliament at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Mohamud said the new charter would take effect immediately.
“Today marks the conclusion of the long journey of reviewing Somalia’s Federal Constitution,” he said.
The presidency said the document would provide the foundation for strengthening state institutions, protecting citizens’ rights, and advancing the country’s democratic system.
Mandate dispute
The signing came just days after Somalia’s bicameral federal parliament approved the revised text.
It marks one of the most consequential constitutional changes since Somalia adopted the provisional charter in 2012.
The new framework extends presidential and parliamentary terms from four years to five.
That change pushes both institutions beyond their previously scheduled expiry dates and delays elections that were due this year.
Mohamud’s current term had been due to end on May 15, 2026, while parliament’s mandate was set to expire on April 14, 2026.
The government says the revisions will anchor a broader political transition.
That includes a shift toward universal suffrage after decades of indirect, clan-based voting.
Somalia’s cabinet approved a universal suffrage bill earlier this year, and officials have repeatedly said the country must move beyond elite bargaining to build a stable democracy.
But insecurity, weak institutions, and the lack of nationwide administrative capacity have long hindered the push for direct elections.
Under the revised framework, the public will elect lawmakers directly, while parliament will continue to choose the president.
For Mohamud and his allies, the changes mark a historic step toward completing Somalia’s state-building process.
Fierce backlash
Instead of settling the debate, however, the constitutional overhaul has intensified it.
Opposition figures grouped under the Somali Future Council, along with leaders in Puntland and Jubaland, have firmly rejected the process.
They say it did not secure the broad national consensus needed to alter the country’s basic law.
Their anger centers not only on the substance of the amendments, but also on their timing.
With the president’s original term close to ending and no agreed electoral model in place, critics say the new charter provides cover for mandate extensions while delaying the vote.
Opponents also say the process violated parliamentary procedures and shut out dissenting lawmakers, allegations the government rejects.
After the parliamentary vote, Lower House Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, known as Adan Madobe, declared that the constitution was now in force.
He said parliament would operate under the new charter, not the old provisional framework.
In an apparent effort to ease tensions, he also lifted suspensions on some lawmakers who had disrupted or boycotted proceedings.
Federal fault lines
The dispute has exposed widening cracks in Somalia’s fragile federal system.
Puntland, one of the country’s semi-autonomous states, had already broken with Mogadishu over an earlier round of constitutional changes.
It said it would act independently until major amendments were put to a nationwide referendum in which Puntland took part.
Jubaland has adopted a similar position, accusing the federal government of moving ahead without the consent of regional authorities.
The row touches on some of the oldest and most sensitive questions in Somali politics.
These include how power should be divided between Mogadishu and the states, and how the country can move from an indirect electoral model to public voting.
Those disputes have repeatedly stalled efforts to finalise the provisional constitution adopted in August 2012, when Somalia was rebuilding after the 1991 collapse of Siad Barre’s regime.
Election fears
The political confrontation has revived memories of Somalia’s 2021 mandate crisis.
An attempt by then-president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo, to extend his term by two years triggered armed confrontations in Mogadishu and split security forces.
That episode remains a stark warning in a country where constitutional disputes often overlap with clan rivalries.
While the latest tensions have not reached that point, lawmakers had already traded blows during bitter parliamentary sessions earlier this year.
The dispute is unfolding as Somalia faces mounting pressure on several fronts.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgency still controls large areas of rural territory and continues to strike major towns.
At the same time, the country is grappling with a worsening humanitarian emergency driven by drought, conflict, and shrinking aid budgets.
Mohamud’s allies have hailed the new constitution as a historic breakthrough.
But with major opposition figures rejecting the process and key federal states refusing to endorse it, Sunday’s signature opens a volatile new phase in Somalia’s long struggle to define its electoral future.
