Somalia says it will hold presidential election in May 2027

Somalia’s electoral commission said on Thursday the Horn of Africa country ​will hold a presidential election on ‌May 15 next year.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term was due to end in May ​this year, but in March lawmakers voted ​to enact constitutional changes that potentially ⁠extended his term by a year, ​a move that drew criticism from the ​opposition.

Mohamud’s government has struggled to defeat the al Qaeda-allied militant group al Shabaab, which has been ​fighting Somalia’s central government for two ​decades.

While the military, backed by an African Union ‌peacekeeping ⁠mission, has pushed back the militants, al-Shabaab still controls vast areas of the countryside and can ​conduct regular ​strikes ⁠on major population centres.

The electoral body’s chairperson, Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, ​made the announcement on the state ​broadcaster ⁠and added that the country would also hold elections for members of parliament ⁠for ​both the lower and ​upper chambers on April 15.