By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 16 October 2026 Former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to annul all steps taken to amend the Provisional Constitution and everything that resulted from them.
In a press statement issued on 15 October, he said he submitted the petition on 11 October and that the court accepted it a day later, on the 12th.
Sharif argued that the constitutional amendments should have gone through the special procedure set out in Chapter 15. He said that procedure includes guaranteeing the independence of constitutional bodies such as the Oversight Committee on the review and the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission. He stressed that the procedure was not followed and denied that any agreement had been reached on the amendments.
The former president strongly condemned the election schedule announced by the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, describing it as one-sided. He warned that the process could lead to parallel elections, a state collapse, political division, civil conflict and a threat to the very existence of the Somali state.
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Sharif blamed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whom he described as a president whose term has expired, for deepening the dispute. He called on him to halt unilateral actions and urged political stakeholders to hold genuine talks to reach a national agreement and transparent elections.
He also asked the Supreme Court to handle the case independently and fairly and to reach a ruling that protects the supremacy of the constitution, national sovereignty and the country’s unity. He called on the international community to help resolve the political dispute in order to prevent a threat to the security and stability of Somalia and the region.
The federal government argues that the constitution approved in 2026 provides the legal basis for one-person one-vote elections, a multiparty system and the establishment of an electoral commission.
The opposition, which includes former senior government officials, along with the federal member states of Jubaland and Puntland, rejects both the constitution and the election schedule.