Somalia supreme court nullifies constitutional amendments, orders elections within 90 days

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s Supreme Court on Thursday declared null and void amendments to the country’s 2012 Provisional Constitution, invalidating the consequential extension of the mandates of the presidency and parliament and ordering that elections be held within 90 days.

The landmark ruling came a day after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud dismissed Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf, in what appeared to be an attempt to forestall a judicial determination that could strip him of any legal justification for remaining in office after his presidential term expired in May. Mohamud has continued to pursue unilateral elections under the exclusive control of his administration in an apparent bid to secure a third presidential term.

Mohamud subsequently appointed Ibrahim Eidle Suleiman as Yusuf’s replacement. Suleiman previously served as the president’s legal adviser and is a member of the ruling party.

Five Supreme Court judges, excluding Bashe Yusuf, handed down Thursday’s verdict. They were Salah Sheikh Ibrahim Dhiblawe, who presided over the proceedings and led the ruling; Abukar Ahmed Ali; Abdulkadir Idiris Eise; AbdulAsis Mohamed Yusuf; and Abdulqafar Hussein Isaq.

In its judgment, the court pronounced the amendments to the 2012 Provisional Constitution null and void, together with the constitutional consequences arising from their adoption. Among the provisions invalidated were those extending the mandates of the president and parliament from four to five years, thereby conferring an additional year in office on both institutions. The court ruled that the extensions were unlawful and constitutionally untenable.

The court observed that parliament had ratified the amendments after the expiration of its constitutional mandate, at which point it no longer possessed the requisite legal authority to enact such consequential changes. It maintained that the legislature had effectively assumed a caretaker capacity and was consequently precluded from undertaking substantive constitutional or legislative measures of that nature.

The judgment further held that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his administration were exercising caretaker functions and lacked the authority to embark on major policy decisions. Their continued presence in office, the court ruled, was solely to ensure administrative continuity and avert a constitutional vacuum pending the election and inauguration of a successor government.

The court directed Somalia’s political stakeholders to negotiate and reach a consensus to resolve the protracted electoral impasse within 30 days. It further ordered that elections be conducted within 90 days.

Shortly after the pronouncement of the verdict, Somali security forces, deploying more than 30 military pickup vehicles, stormed the Supreme Court’s premises and forced the chief justice out of the court complex.

The opposition, which has aligned itself with the court’s position, welcomed the judgment and vehemently condemned the government’s deployment of security forces to the court premises, describing the operation as unlawful. It likewise denounced the dismissal of the chief justice as illegal.

The latest reports indicate that the dismissed chief justice and the five other judges who delivered Thursday’s verdict subsequently fled to the Mogadishu residence of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who is now an opposition leader, amid fears of possible government reprisals.

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