Hassan Sheikh Mohamud faces backlash over proposed constitutional changes

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s attempt to change Somalia’s constitution threatens to undo some of his landmark achievements and are facing serious backlash

The incumbent government led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected in May 2022 on a platform committed to compromise and consensus among Somali elites and a pledge to confront and eradicate al-Shabaab, a commitment popular support with the Somali public and the international community. Though he’s achieved some success in this mission, with government forces recapturing large parts of Galmudug and Hirshabelle states, the government has suffered some setbacks recently. However, the government has been able to boast of several other achievements as Mohamud’s second term reaches its halfway point. He has managed to join the East African Community, an 8-member trade and political bloc, a three-decade arms embargo has been lifted and Somalia has now secured debt relief.   

His bid to change Somalia’s constitution however might present him with the most serious political obstacle of his second tenure which has seen widespread political opposition. 

The National Consultative Council meeting  

The president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, four regional member states, the mayor of Mogadishu, and others have made a request to shift Somalia’s political system from its long-established parliamentary basis to a presidential system, launching with it two political parties. The communique issued after the National Consultative Council last May also said Somalia should move to 1-person-1-vote elections, departing from the prevailing indirect clan-based system.  

Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, an outspoken interior minister told Voice of America’s Somali service after the meeting: “It gives the Somalis the opportunity to have their say and entrust their vote with those representing them at different levels of local, regional and federal governments.” 

All municipal, regional, and federal elections will be overseen by a 15-member national election and border committee. Additionally, the first elections for local council will be held this June. Regional leadership and regional parliamentary elections will take place this June.  

Among the two more consequential changes however are the decision to restrict Somalia to two political parties – possibly recalling the chaotic environment of the late 1960s where there were over 60 parties representing a few million people – even though the current political parties law does not place a cap on the number of political parties. Somaliland and Puntland operate a similar limit on the number of parties allowed. The second would be the decision to abolish the prime minister’s position and elevate the vice president’s post, concentrating power in the executive.  

Despite the far-reaching changes however, Puntland's absence has raised doubts about its inclusiveness and whether the changes can claim real consensus. Puntland has already said it will not recognise the new constitution and has seen its ties with the federal government enter a deep freeze. Garowe has also received backing from two former Somali presidents, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Sheikh Shariif who visited Puntland in late March.  

Since then, a vast number of lawmakers have denounced the contents of the communiqué and described it as an unconstitutional move. More than seventy MPs from both houses opposed the government’s plan to modify the constitution and have charged the federal parliament with not following the correct procedures.  

Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, formerly Hassan Sheikh’s presidential envoy for drought responses and a prominent opposition figure took to Facebook where he released a video message with dramatic music in the background in which he said the president was putting private interests over national ones and was seeking a term-extension similar to his predecessor Farmaajo. The opposition’s criticisms have gone unheard by the Hassan-Hamza administration though.  

Several MPs, particularly in the lower house, have signed a letter that went viral on social media stating that the articles and clauses in the four chapters of the constitution where changes have been proposed should be brought before the house for discussion and debate.  

These now chapters appear totally changed. There have been amendments to 45 articles and 97 clauses in total.  In addition, 3 articles and 26 clauses from the original constitution have been deleted, and 19 articles and 94 clauses have been added.  

Several prominent people have also raised alarm about the absence of civil society in the process. Mahad Wasuge, executive director of the Somali Public Agenda, a self-styled think & action tank, posted: “the role of civil society in the constitutional review debate is low.” 

Prior animus between Hassan Sheikh and Said Deni is shrinking space for dialogue 

Puntland, the oldest and most developed of Somalia’s federal states, has had fraught ties with the central government from Hassan Sheikh’s resumption of the presidency. Said Deni, Puntland’s recently re-elected leader, previously backed Hassan Sheikh over Farmaajo in the 2022 presidential contest and was widely touted to become the country’s prime minister. Hassan Sheikh eventually snubbed him, opting for Hamza Abdi Barre, keeping Deni in regional rather than national politics despite his emergence as a major challenger to Farmaajo. Several issues have further complicated ties, as Garowe is cut off from federal government development projects. 

A venomous war of words has even broken out between the prime minister and Puntland’s president. In a speech broadcast on Universal TV, Barre questioned Deni’s nationalist credentials, claiming he was only looking out for his “seat, his interests, his brand, his children and his family,” he “doesn’t want anything else,” Barre added. Deni quickly hit back at the prime minister saying: “If your personal interest is not met, don’t mislead the people, the national interest matters” come and join us, tell your inputs and allow the process to move on” 

The Somaliland Pending Case  

Faysal Cali Warabe, an unfiltered and usually blunt opposition figure in Somaliland, surprised many when he expressed his support for Hassan Sheikh’s constitutional amendments. In a post on X, he wrote: “It is the first time that Hawiye politicians understand ‘that the majority rules the minority’, and that the successful people shape the policy to guide the people and the country.” Despite the fact that days earlier, he described Hassan Sheikh as “incompetent and corrupt”, Adam Aw Hirsi, a member of Hassan Sheikh’s cabinet, welcomed Warabe’s remarks, taking the unusual opportunity to take a further dig at Puntland: “Currently, the process has garnered backing from all Somali states except Puntland State.” 

More than anything, Warabe’s post has brought Hargeisa’s lack of input back on the agenda.  

In order to finalise the provisional constitution that was adopted in August 2012, Somaliland should participate in the review process, despite its staunch opposition to any national initiatives in Somalia, which it has long considered another country.  

Ways forward  

Eschewing hate speech, emanating from both parts is needed during this tough time. The sitting government led by Hassan Hamza should offer further concessions and invite all political stakeholders to contribute and engage in the ongoing discussions on the constitution. The majority of the responsibility for the constitutional amendment lies with the federal parliament, both houses, and especially the speakership, to follow the rules and procedures of the parliamentary discussions on the constitution.