Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmajo, has signed a law extending his term for another two years.
After the lower house of parliament passed the contentious bill, the president signed it late Tuesday.
This occurred despite threats from the US and its allies to blacklist Mogadishu if the change worsens the country’s instability.
After the national election was postponed in February, the standoff has lasted months. Mohamed’s tenure in office, according to critics, has come to an end.
The international community had objected to a mandate extension and warned that the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group could take advantage of the country’s heated political divisions.
The U.S. is “deeply disappointed,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement overnight that threatened the possibility of sanctions, visa restrictions and a reevaluation of “our bilateral relations.”
The European Union had warned that signing this week’s decision into law would divide Somalia and “constitute a grave threat to the peace and stability of Somalia and its neighbors,” and it threatened to consider “concrete measures” in response.
