Mogadishu – Somalia passed a new constitution on Wednesday that will see lawmakers directly elected by the public for the first time, despite strong opposition from some parts of the fractured country.
The president has then been elected by the two houses of parliament, not by the public.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been pushing for the new constitution and has said that elections will be held in June, but Wednesday’s amendments extended his mandate by one year, indicating that the vote may not take place for another year.
There are questions over Somalia’s ability to hold elections.
Historic day: Somalia’s parliament has enacted a new constitution for the country, departing from the provisional constitution drafted by the international community and neighboring countries in 2012.
Today, Somalia has fully regained its sovereignty and independence. pic.twitter.com/K8w16sBFI3
— Uneexo (@Cawslab) March 4, 2026
The country still faces a major insurgent threat from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the federal government for two decades and controls vast swathes of the states around the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia is also deeply fractured along state lines, with leaders in Jubaland and Puntland strongly opposed to efforts by Mohamud to centralise governance.
An opposition alliance, including the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland, failed to agree to the proposed constitution and election timeline during a meeting last month, and their representatives boycotted Wednesday’s vote.
Somaliland, meanwhile, has run its affairs entirely separately since 1991, and was recognised as an independent country by Israel in December.
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Source: AFP
