Constitutional Amendments Fuel Political Tensions in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Former President of Somalia, Sharif Ahmed, initiated the executive branch’s capture of the Somali legislature in 2009.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — Two years ago, the Puntland State of Somalia disengaged from the federal institutions, cutting ties with the Federal Government of Somalia. Puntland claimed it would act as a separate entity. What Puntland meant was unclear, as it was neither outright secession nor a demand to address governance issues. It was almost a year before amendments to the Provisional Constitution were ratified by the bicameral legislature in 2024.

Critics of the constitutional amendments urged a return to the 2012 Provisional Constitution. They did not cite any violations of specific articles of the Constitution. When the Federal Government of Somalia in 2024 proposed amendments debated by MPs and Senators, no critic objected to the process. In 2013, the Farole administration of Puntland argued that the Provisional Constitution entitled it to act as a separate entity with powers similar to those of the Federal Government of Somalia. President Abdirahman Farole did explain which articles of the Provisional Constitution grant Puntland powers to enter agreements with foreign companies.

President Dr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud followed in his predecessor’s footsteps, maintaining close ties between the presidency and the bicameral legislature.

If anything, it is the Provisional Constitution that was drafted in such a way as to concentrate powers in the federal institutions in Mogadishu. In 2009, before the end of the transition, the former Transitional Federal Parliament rejected the maritime Memorandum of Understanding Somalia had signed with Kenya. President Sharif Ahmed told a local radio station that in rejecting the MoU, the Somali Parliament had erred “I believe the [federal] government has put a lot of effort into the (sic) agreement. The prime minister has made extensive consultations with Somali lawyers, who are as adamant about protecting the interests of Somalia as we are, and they confirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding [with Kenya] is fruitful,” President Sharif said. This was a period in which the Somali federal legislature had acquiesced to, and actively facilitated, the agenda of the executive branch.

It is no secret that the Somali presidency has had the power to drive legislative agendas during both the pre- and post-transition periods (2009 to the present). Amendments to articles in the Provisional Constitution are not the only contentious issues. The federal representation of Somaliland MPs in the bicameral legislature has remained a bone of contention since 2024, when the secessionist administration in Hargeisa signed an illegal maritime Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia. The National Salvation Alliance, led by Sharif Ahmed, today said it remains committed to talks with the Federal Government of Somalia.

Abdirahman Farole, former President of Puntland State of Somalia, hastened the end of the transition without broad consultations with Puntland stakeholders.

At stake is the question: who represents electorates: the politicians negotiating with the Federal Government of Somalia, or the leaders of the Federal Member States? In 2021, Federal Member States agreed on an indirect electoral model through which their parliaments handpicked MPs and Senators for the 2022 presidential elections.  If politicians negotiating with the Federal Government of Somalia have no influence and ties with the Federal Member States, their leverage is diminished, particularly when Somali citizens in Federal Member States favour one-person, one-vote elections.

As such, “opposition political leaders” are seeking unbridled powers they currently view as abhorrent when exercised by an incumbent government. Their conciliatory remarks and commitment to continuing talks reflect their desire to have the best of both worlds: opposition to an all-powerful presidency now, but a return to an all-controlling presidency if their leader ever occupies Villa Somalia, again.

© Puntland Post, 2025

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