Somalia's court rejects president's extra year and orders elections within 90 days
The Supreme Court says President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's mandate expired in May and orders elections within 90 days. An unverified allegation that troops were sent to arrest its chief justice deepens the clash over constitutional power.
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Somalia's Supreme Court has ruled President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's term extension unlawful, triggering a clash over constitutional authority as opposition leaders accuse him of sending troops to arrest its chief justice.
The November 5 ruling says constitutional changes extending presidential and parliamentary terms from four years to five cannot apply to current officeholders. The court said Mohamud's mandate expired in May and ordered political leaders to agree on an electoral framework within 30 days and hold elections within 90 days.
The court also rejected Mohamud's dismissal of Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed, announced a day before the ruling. The presidency said it had replaced him following complaints about the administration of justice and had appointed former chief justice Ibrahim Idle Suleiman.
The judges said the president lacked authority to remove the chief justice unilaterally. They said the dismissal was intended "to obstruct the administration of justice" in the constitutional case before them. That accusation comes from the court.
Former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire accused Mohamud of deploying troops to the Supreme Court and attempting to arrest Baashe. A senior judge separately told BBC Somali that government troops had deployed in large numbers around the court and that Baashe had been ordered to leave.
AFP could not verify Khaire's allegations, and the judge's account was not independently verified. Images published by Somali media appeared to show military personnel inside the compound, but did not establish who ordered a deployment or whether an arrest was attempted. As of Hiiraan Online's November 6 account, the presidency had not publicly responded to the troop allegations, the term ruling or the court's rejection of Baashe's dismissal.
