Somalia’s Parliament on Wednesday approved a long-awaited new constitution, bringing to an end years of review and political debate over the country’s governance framework. During a session broadcast live on Somali National Television, a total of 222 lawmakers — including 185 members of the House of the People and 37 senators — voted in favour of adopting the document.
Under the new constitution, the president will continue to be elected by parliament, while lawmakers will be chosen directly by the public. The president will appoint the prime minister, although parliament will retain the power to dismiss the premier.
The constitution introduces stricter eligibility requirements for top offices.
A presidential candidate must be a Somali citizen by birth and cannot run if their mother is a foreign national. The president, prime minister, speaker of parliament and chief justice are also barred from holding dual citizenship and must renounce any foreign nationality. They are further prohibited from having a spouse who is a foreign national. The presidency will be limited to a maximum of two terms.
The document also centralises foreign policy powers, granting the federal government exclusive authority to sign bilateral agreements and preventing regional states from conducting independent negotiations with foreign governments. In addition, the constitution sets the age of religious maturity at 15 and legal responsibility at 18, while extending the government’s term of office from four to five years.
The constitution will take legal effect once signed by the president, replacing the provisional 2012 constitution that guided Somalia’s federal system during the country’s post-civil war reconstruction. The review process had been marked by disagreements between the federal government and regional administrations over issues including the electoral system, power sharing and the status of the capital, Mogadishu.