Farmajo warns Somalia’s new constitution threatens unity and governance
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said Sunday that the decision by the country’s current leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to sign a constitution he unilaterally instituted intensifies the challenges confronting the nation’s governance and jeopardizes the unity of the Somali people. In a statement, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said the positions adopted by […]
Black News 
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said Sunday that the decision by the country’s current leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to sign a constitution he unilaterally instituted intensifies the challenges confronting the nation’s governance and jeopardizes the unity of the Somali people.
In a statement, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said the positions adopted by regional states, lawmakers representing a broad segment of the Somali population and former national leaders demonstrate that the move lacks both societal endorsement and the political consensus needed to give it legitimacy.
Farmajo further argued that the signing undertaken by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud contravenes procedures stipulated in the provisional constitution and risks exacerbating divisions within Somali society.
“Therefore, I appeal to him to restore adherence to the collectively agreed path and to facilitate elections within the remaining period of his mandate, guided by the legal procedures and principles that enjoy broad national consensus,” Farmajo said in a statement.
Opposition to the newly announced constitution extends beyond Farmajo. Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, several former prime ministers and two regional states have voiced comparable objections.
Last week, Somalia’s parliament endorsed amendments to the provisional constitution in a vote critics say failed to secure the two-thirds majority of the bicameral legislature required for such changes. The session was held after dozens of opposition members of parliament had been prevented from attending.
Despite the controversy surrounding the vote, the speaker of parliament and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud subsequently declared that the country’s constitution was finalized, announcing that Somalia now possesses a new constitution for the first time in decades.
The revised constitution also provides for a one-year extension of the mandates of both the government and parliament, whose terms are set to expire within weeks. Opposition figures contend that the new constitution serves as a pretext to prolong the administration’s hold on power indefinitely and to circumvent the holding of elections.
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