Somalia Constitution amendment bid delayed ahead of the polls

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Scheduled voting by Somali lawmakers on amendments to the provisional constitution has been canceled at the last minute as parliament’s 4-year mandate expires this month.

The decision was made after Farmajo signed a Presidential Decree postponing the approval of the Amendment to the Provisional Constitution after the outgoing 10th Parliament failed to work on it.

The duty will be executed by the incoming 11th Parliament, according to a statement released by Villa Somalia on Thursday after leaders held a meeting with the constitution minister and committees on Dec 23.

The constitutional review process has been the epicenter of the political crisis between the central government and the Federal Member States for several years that led to a lack of cooperation in the elections.

Somalia is now headed into an electoral season that promises to be heated. If not carefully managed and the government continued to go with its stance to hold a non-inclusive election could plunge the country into violence.

Moreover, the chronic center-periphery tensions have been on vivid display in the tussle over electoral preparations, threatening to turn the vote into a trigger for a wider crisis.

The constitution mandates that parliamentary and presidential elections take place by November 2020 and February 2021, respectively, but delayed due to FGS's reluctance to review the disputed election body.

The distrust has blighted Somali politics for years. Farmajo administration has widened rifts with its the Federal States over the past 3.5 years, particularly its attempts to replace federal member state leaders.

Following series of talks in Dhusamareb and Mogadishu, the FGS and FMS leaders inked an indirect election deal last September after the country failed to conduct one-person-one-vote polls in 2020-21.

Under the terms of the agreement, clan delegates from different parts of the country will form electoral colleges that in turn will pick 275 seats of the parliament. Parliament will then vote for the president.

On Thursday, the council of the presidential candidates issued a statement to reject a new election timetable unveiled by a disputed electoral team, accusing president Farmajo of trying to rig the election.

GAROWE ONLINE