The amendments come as Somalia continues to confront decades of fragility, insecurity and conflict. Although African Union (AU) forces have weakened Al\u2011Shabaab, the militant group still controls parts of rural Somalia and carries out regular attacks, complicating efforts to consolidate political governance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Friday, Advocate Sipho Mantula of the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs said the timing of the amendments is \u201cnot correct\u201d and risks deepening mistrust in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHis term of office was supposed to expire this year, and now they are pushing it by another year. The constitution was amended with immediate effect by a parliamentary vote, and opposition parties see this as political manipulation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mantula noted that similar delays have occurred elsewhere in the region, including South Sudan. However, Somalia\u2019s decision has drawn particular scrutiny because it affects other federal states such as Somaliland, Puntland and Jubaland, all of which had aligned their election calendars with 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He added that opposition lawmakers, having lost the parliamentary vote, are now applying \u201cpopular pressure\u201d and appealing for international scrutiny, including from the AU.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cDelaying elections undermines development, threatens peace and fuels insecurity. This is a challenge across the continent, where electoral calendars are altered through parliamentary manoeuvres,\u201d Mantula said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Asked whether Somalia could face renewed instability, Mantula said the danger cannot be ruled out, given ongoing conflicts in Ethiopia, Eritrea and across the wider Horn of Africa. He stressed that Somalia\u2019s political actors must pursue national dialogue and involve community elders, noting that Somali democracy follows dynamics distinct from Western models.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He warned that disputes over the interpretation and implementation of the amendments could trigger legal challenges in the Constitutional Court or be escalated to the AU or United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amendments are themselves a conflict trigger,\u201d Mantula said. \u201cThe AU must be proactive. Africa cannot afford to ignore conflicts in the Horn of Africa, especially in an era of drone warfare and rapidly shifting security dynamics.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":27948,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-27947","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Somalia\u2019s parliament has approved constitutional changes that could extend President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud\u2019s term by one year and delay planned national elections, triggering strong criticism from opposition lawmakers and raising concerns about political stability in the Horn of Africa nation.","published_date":"","news_description":"Somalia\u2019s parliament has approved constitutional changes that could extend President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud\u2019s term by one year and delay planned national elections, triggering strong criticism from opposition lawmakers and raising concerns about political stability in the Horn of Africa nation.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/27947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/27947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27952,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/27947\/revisions\/27952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=27947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}