Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — A delegation from the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission, led by the Deputy Minister of Somalia’s Ministry of Justice, Ahmed Abdirahman Hassan, is visiting Las Anod, the administrative capital of the interim Sool, Sanaag, Ceyn, and Khaatumo administration. The committee members will hold consultations with leaders of the SSCK and civil society representatives. Amendments to chapters 5 through 9 will be discussed, with one key point of contention being the criteria for forming a federal member state — specifically, article 5 (whether this requires one and a half regions, two regions or more than two regions).
The committee members are unable to hold consultations in areas under the secessionist Somaliland administration, whose MPs retain federal representation in the bicameral legislature despite being unable to visit their constituencies. Given that the Federal Government of Somalia has designated secession as a national security threat, a question arises: how will the input of Somaliland MPs and Senators be incorporated into the outcomes of these discussions?
Proposed amendments to article 7 are equally contentious, particularly concerning who will be in charge of the government — the President or the Prime Minister. Should the Prime Minister assume control of the government, the President would assume responsibility for the state. Conversely, if the President were to be elected directly by the people, he would hold the privilege of appointing a Prime Minister. In such a scenario, it is unlikely that a Somali President would permit a PM to become head of the government. Currently, a Prime Minister in Somalia retains a degree of power because the bicameral legislature elects the President.
The incumbent President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, favours a system in which the presidency wields powers similar to the pre-1991 presidency. Such ambitions do not reflect the irreversible changes in Somali governance brought about by state collapse, civil war and the threat of transnational terrorism. At present, the bicameral legislature is largely beholden to the presidency, a feature of the institutional anomalies that reflect the fragility of Somalia’s federal institutions.
While consultations on constitutional amendments are a commendable step, it is essential to prevent them from becoming mere talking shops aimed at producing a superficially mediated review process.
Somalia’s federal system turned 20 in October 2024. The fact that consultations on amendments to the provisional constitution are taking place in Las Anod represents significant progress in state-building, one year after the city was mercilessly shelled by forces of the Somaliland administration, which has claimed unilateral secession from the Federal Republic of Somalia since 1991.
© Puntland Post, 2024
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