Government & politics — Somalia

1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)

• history: previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012,
• adopted 1 August 2012 (provisional) amendments: proposed by the federal government, by members of the state governments, the Federal Parliament, or by public petition; proposals require review by a joint committee of Parliament with inclusion of public comments and state legislatures’ comments; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament and approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; constitutional clauses on Islamic principles, the federal system, human rights and freedoms, powers and authorities of the government branches, and inclusion of women in national institutions cannot be amended; amended 2024

• chief of state: President
• Prime Minister Hamza Abdi BARRE (since 25 June 2022) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister,
• approved by the House of the People elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 15 May 2022 (next to be held in 2026); prime minister appointed by the president,
• approved by the House of the People election results: 2022: HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud elected president in third round - Federal Parliament percent of vote in first round - Said ABDULLAHI DENI (Kaah) 20.2%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 18.3%, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 16.2%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE (independent) 14.6%, other 30.7%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in second round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 34.1%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 25.7%, Said ABDULLAHI DENI 21%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE 19.2%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in third round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 66%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 34% 2017: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" elected president in second round; Federal Parliament number of votes in first round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 88, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 72, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 49, other 37; Federal Parliament number of votes in second round - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed 45

Description

bicameral Federal Parliament to consist of: Senate (54 seats; senators indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 4-year terms) House of the People (275 seats; members indirectly elected by electoral colleges, each consisting of 51 delegates selected by the 136 Traditional Elders in consultation with sub-clan elders; members serve 4-year terms)

Elections

• Senate - first held on 10 October 2016
• last held 27 July - 13 November 2021 (next to be held in 2024) House of the People - first held 23 October - 10 November 2016 (next scheduled for September - October 2021 but postponed to November 2021 and then extended several times until April 2022
• next to be held in June 2024)

Election Results

• - Senate - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - NA
• composition as of February 2024 - men 40, women 14, percentage women 25.9% House of the People - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - NA
• composition as of February 2024 - men 221, women 54, percentage women 19.6%
• total Federal Parliament percentage women 20.7% note 1: the inaugural House of the People was appointed in September 2012 by clan elders
• in 2016 and 2017, the Federal Parliament became bicameral with indirect elections scheduled for 10 October 2016 for the Upper House - renamed 'Senate' and 23 October to 10 November 2016 for the House of the People
• while the elections were delayed, they were eventually held in most regions despite voting irregularities
• on 27 December 2016, 41 Upper House senators and 242 House of the People Members of Parliament were sworn in note 2: despite the formation of political parties in 2020, the 2021 parliamentary elections maintained a primarily clan-based system of appointments
• seats in the legislature were apportioned to Somali member states and not by party representation

• highest court(s): the provisional constitution stipulates the establishment of the Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges, including the chief judge and deputy chief judge); note - under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and the Appeal Court were established; yet most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law,
• or Islamic law judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president upon proposal of the Judicial Service Commission, a 9-member judicial and administrative body;
• judge tenure NA subordinate courts: federal courts; federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia courts

18 regions (plural - gobollo, singular - gobol); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba), Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba), Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle), Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle), Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

• select National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) approved parties (as of 2020): Cosmopolitan Democratic Party [Yarow Sharef ADEN]
• Green Party [Ahmed HAJI]
• Himilo Qaran Party [Sharif SHEIKH AHMED]
• Ilays Party [Abdulkadir OSOBLE]
• Justice and Reconciliation Party National Progressive Party Peace and Unity Party [Asha ABDALLA]
• Qaransoor Party [Abdijabaar SHEIKH AHMED]
• Qiimo Qaran Party Security and Justice Party Social Justice Party [Mohamed NUR, chairman]
• Somali Labour Party[Ali Mohamed APOLLO, chairman]
• Somali Republic Party [Abdinur Ahmed DARMAN, chairman]
• Somali Social Unity Party or SSUP [Yaasiin Maaxi MACALIN]
• Union for Peace and Development Party or PDP [HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud]
• Wadajir Party [Abdirahman Abdishakur WARSAME]
• Note: in 2017 an independent electoral commission (the NIEC) was inaugurated with a mandate to oversee the process of registration of political parties in the country; as of 2021, the NIEC had registered a total of 110 parties

• no citizenship by descent only: the fa
• no residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidate), EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Shane L. DIXON (since 25 July 2023) embassy: Mogadishu, (reopened October 2019 on the grounds of the Mogadishu Airport) mailing address: P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621 Nairobi, Kenya

telephone

[254] 20 363-6451

Email address and website

• SomaliaPublicAffairs@state.gov
• https://so.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador Ali Sharif AHMED (since 16 September 2019)

chancery

1609 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

[1] (202) 853-9164

Email address and website

• info@somaliembassydc.net
• https://somaliembassydc.net/