Supreme Court to render verdict on Fahad Yasin’s MP seat ‘Somalia’

Somalia’s Supreme Court has finished hearing the case brought forth by former intelligence director Fahad Yasin on Tuesday afternoon. The legal case centred on the nullification of Fahad Yasin’s parliamentary election results at the hands of the FEIT over two weeks ago.
Fahad Yasin’s lawyer, Zakariye Mohamud Ismail, filed a motion to overturn the federal elections committee’s decision not to recognize the result of HOP086, which Yasin won on February 20 in Beledweyne. Yasin’s lawyers argue that the committee had no jurisdiction to nullify the results and dispute Fahad Yasin won the seat illegally.

FIET was represented by the Office of the Attorney General, who argued before that the September 17 political agreement between the federal government and federal member states gave the electoral commission the legal authority to suspend or nullify parliamentary results where electoral fraud is believed to have occurred. The Attorney General asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the case on Saturday.

FIET has previously said that Fahad Yasin’s result was suspended due to irregularities concerning delegates in the election. It is alleged that constituents from outside the community were brought in to vote for Fahad Yasin.

A verdict is expected shortly – some say as early as Tuesday evening – from the three-panel judge led by Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed.

Ahmed was appointed to lead Somalia’s court in May 2018. At the time, the political appointment of a 36-year-old Chief Justice raised eyebrows due to Ahmed’s lack of judicial experience.

Fahad Yasin’s legal challenge is the first case Somalia’s Supreme Court has heard in close to half a decade and the first case adjudicated by Bashe Yusuf Ahmed in his legal career.

During a judicial conference in Mogadishu in July 2021, Ahmed said that the Supreme Court would hear any complaints against the Federal Electoral Commission.

The hearing comes as a separate committee for the election for Upper House speaker began the registration process for candidates on Tuesday.