Somali Minister Says Parliament Continuing Discussions on Amending Interim Constitution
(AWP) - Somalia’s Minister of Information Dawd Aweis said that the country’s parliament is continuing discussions to amend the provisional constitution, two months after the Somali Constituent Assembly passed a draft resolution allowing amendments to the constitution that was adopted 12 years ago.
During a press conference held in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, alongside Mohammed el-Amine Souef, Special Representative of the African Union mission in Somalia, the Somali minister said that the ongoing parliamentary discussions are related to the fourth article of the constitution.
Aweis explained, “This is the article related to popular representation, elections, and the completion of the country’s interim constitution to pave the way for a comprehensive and politically stable system, in addition to finding an integrated constitution that meets the needs of efforts to build state institutions.”
The current constitution was adopted in 2012, paving way for general parliamentary elections and allowing citizens to elect a new president. The country has been plagued by civil war and lack of security since the 1990s.
In late January, a draft resolution to amend the temporary constitution was approved by the country's two chambers of Parliament during a joint meeting of members of the Senate and the House of the People in Mogadishu.
During the joint session attended by 220 out of 329 members of the two chambers, 201 members approved amending the constitution, while 19 members opposed it.