MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal parliament on Wednesday approved sweeping constitutional amendments, escalating political tensions as opposition leaders and regional states denounced the process as unlawful.
Lawmakers from both chambers met at Villa Hargeysa in Mogadishu for a decisive session to finalize revisions to Somalia’s long-delayed provisional constitution.
Parliament convened with 186 members of the House of the People and 36 senators. Lawmakers approved Chapters 4 through 15 after previous debates and amendments.
The speaker said 36 senators present and one voting remotely supported the amendments, while 185 lawmakers in the lower house voted unanimously in favor.
Speaker Sheikh Adan Madoobe declared the constitution duly approved, calling the vote a formal completion of key chapters in Somalia’s constitutional review process.
The decision marks a major political victory for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who prioritized finalizing the constitution as central to Somalia’s state-building agenda.
But opposition leaders swiftly rejected the outcome, saying the amendments violated constitutional procedures, parliamentary bylaws and the required two-thirds majority threshold.
They said the necessary supermajority was not verified and alleged that more than 50 lawmakers were prevented from participating in debates.
In press conference, the opposition said it recognizes only the 2012 Provisional Constitution until amendments are adopted through a lawful, inclusive and nationally agreed political process.
Both Puntland and Jubaland states also opposed the amendments, exposing deepening rifts between Somalia’s federal government and some member states.
Somalia’s constitutional review, meant to complete the 2012 charter, was intended to unify the country but now risks intensifying political instability.
