The First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House Parliament, MP Sadia Yasin Samatar, has created a ten-member committee to draft a report on a resolution signed by 100 MPs asking for constitutional revisions and supplements.
According to reports, the proposal seeks to change articles 60 and 91, which currently say that the President of the Federal Government of Somalia would serve a four-year term beginning on the day they take the oath of office.
The Chairman of Somalia’s Senate announced on Friday that his chamber would follow suit after adopting a proposal from 15 senators.
Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, Somalia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Drought Climate and Member of Parliament, has remarked that the parliament is expected to propose agendas on how to move the country out of indirect elections.
He went on to say that now is not the time for parliament to contemplate an extension term, and that they have been aware of the concerns and difficulties for a long time.
The Himilo Qaran party of former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has spoken out against the anticipated enlargement of government entities such as the Presidency and Parliament. The political party has indicated that it is opposed to any extension and has urged Federal Government leaders to uphold the law and avoid any extension.
According to the former president, the proposed amendment would allow for an increase in legislative and presidential term limits from four to five years.
In 2021, the Lower House of Parliament voted to extend former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s and the federal government’s mandates by two years in order to break a political impasse on national elections.
Opposition candidates, led by current President Mohamud and former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, were successful in convincing parliament to reject mandate term extensions.
The Somali Cabinet Council approved a five-person committee entrusted with overseeing the Independent Commission for the Revision of the Federal Constitution on Thursday.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs presented the committee to the Council, which was chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Barre, before it was accepted.
“The newly nominated five-person committee has been authorized by the Federal Government of Somalia’s cabinet of ministers and will shortly go before the Federal Parliament for approval to pave the way for the completion of the Federal Constitution,” the Ministry said in a statement.
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