Mogadishu – A special session of Somalia’s parliament, convened to introduce significant constitutional amendments, collapsed in disorder and was forced to adjourn after opposition lawmakers staged a vociferous protest.
Opposition members, who have long argued that the amendment process is being rushed without adequate consultation or legal foundation, escalated their dissent into direct action. Their protest erupted into a raucous demonstration inside the chamber, with lawmakers marching through the aisles and publicly shredding the session’s agenda.
The political theater reached a symbolic climax when the opposition bloc united to sing the Somali national anthem, a gesture that silenced the chamber and served as a potent rebuke of the government’s agenda, framing their stance as one of patriotic defense.
The contentious amendments, championed by President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud’s administration, include a proposed 40-day extension of the current parliamentary term and revisions to key constitutional articles concerning governance. This push persists despite a formal appeal from the Somali National Consultative Council—comprising federal member states like Puntland and Jubaland—which recently called for an immediate halt to the process, citing national instability.
With tensions at a peak, all eyes now turn to a crucial summit scheduled for next week in Mogadishu between the Federal Government and the Council. The constitutional crisis is poised to be the central, and most divisive, item on the agenda.
