16th May, 2018
President Mohamed Farmajo of Somalia on Wednesday pledged to speed up law review process to enable the Horn of Africa nation to have a new constitution process ahead of “one-person, one-vote” elections scheduled for 2020.
In speech delivered on his behalf by Speaker of the House of the People, Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman during the closing of a three-day convention in Mogadishu, Farmajo stressed the need to finalize constitutional review process by end of the year.
“We are determined to put to an end the review and finalize Somalia’s constitution by the end of 2018,” Farmajo said, adding that the process of developing new laws to govern the country and replacing the Provisional Constitution, developed in 2012, had taken too long, noting that it was time Somalia had a new political charter.
He also highlighted that a new constitution would unite the country, protect the rights of its citizens and help bring about political stability.
Though the review timetable expects the new document to be ready by the end of 2019, Farmajo said his government is determined to complete the process earlier, in line with an earlier promise to deliver a new constitution before the end of his four-year term.
The convention was held as the Horn of Africa nation prepares to move towards “one-person, one-vote” elections in 2020/2021 in which the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) is working to achieve this.
Somalia is currently governed by a Provisional Constitution and the promulgation of a new and permanent constitution is expected before the country holds a “one-person, one-vote election” in 2020.
A statement from the UN mission said Michael Keating, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, praised the Somali government for its efforts in developing a timetable for the new constitution.
“This is a major milestone for Somalia, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to see this day and how proud I am to be the representative of the international community congratulating you on what is happening,” Keating said.
The UN envoy added that a successful review process should be approached in the spirit of unity and reconciliation, adding that he would mobilize financial resources from the international community to add to the three million U.S. dollars pledged on Monday by the Federal Government of Somalia to help conclude the process.
“Politically, my colleagues in UN will do their best to provide technical advice and will also do our best to mobilize financial resources,” Keating said.
The National Constitutional Convention, which drew more than 350 delegates from all sectors of Somali society, kicks off a review process that will address a number of unresolved constitutional issues, including the future status of Mogadishu and the sharing of powers and resources between the federal government and the Federal Member States.