30/03/2024
New Amendments in the first four chapters of the constitution includes.
- Freedom of expression (Article 17)
- Women’s representation (Article 47)
- Leadership system (Article 49)
- Number of political parties (Article 54)
- Composition of Electoral and Boundaries Commision (Article 57)
Breakdown.
Article 17 (1) of the approved version says everyone has the right to freedom of expression and to impart that in speech, print, media, art or any other format unless it’s in conflict with the Islamic sharia. (The final version deletes the phrase “unless it’s in conflict with the laws of the federal republic of Somalia)
Article 47 (7) of the approved version says the constitution “ensures the participation of women in the legislative councils and political parties, and the quota for women will be stated in special rules adopted by the federal parliament of Somalia.”
[The women parliamentarians wanted this article to say, “women should be participating in all three levels of government with a 30 percent representation.” That didn’t happen]
Article 49 (1) of the approved version says that citizens will directly elect the President. The president will appoint and be able to fire a Prime Minister. [Under the previous version, the president would only appoint but could not fire the PM (the parliament had the authority to fire the PM. Last year, the President and the leaders of the federal states (except Puntland) proposed a presidential system with a president and VP directly elected. That is now rejected]
Article 54 (2) of the approved version says that there will be three national political parties. [It rejects proposal from the president and federal member states (except Puntland) which limited national political parties to two]
Article 57 (1) of the approved version says the composition of the Electoral & Boundaries Commission will be 18. [It rejects proposal from the president and regional member states (except Puntland) which put the number of the Commission at 15]
