A Parliament in Limbo: Why the Election of a New Speaker May be Less a Crisis Than a Necessary Act of Continuity

By Mohamed A Yasin

Somalia’s political crisis has produced a constitutional paradox that increasingly defies conventional political logic: a Parliament whose mandate expired months ago continues to sit, a presidency whose mandate has also expired remains in office, and negotiations between the Federal Government and the opposition—despite repeated rounds of internationally mediated talks—have yet to produce an agreement on how the country should proceed.

In the middle of this uncertainty, one question has become unavoidable: if there is no political agreement and no agreed timetable for a new Parliament, should the existing House of the People simply abandon its chamber and leave the country without a functioning legislature?

That is the dilemma facing Somalia. The 11th Parliament’s mandate expired on April 14, 2026. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate subsequently expired on May 15. Yet neither a new Parliament nor a new president has emerged because the country’s political leadership remains locked in negotiations over the electoral and constitutional arrangements that will determine the next phase of the transition.