Somalia Moves to Reopen Parliament Amid Growing Constitutional Dispute

Mogadishu (WDN) – The former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the leadership of Somalia’s House of the People have held a series of high-level political meetings over the past 48 hours aimed at reopening the Federal Parliament and organizing the election of a new Speaker of the Lower House amid the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of the federal parliament.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, the meetings concluded with an agreement to reconvene both chambers of the Federal Parliament within the next two weeks. The Standing Committee of the House of the People is also expected to be summoned in the coming days to accelerate preparations for the parliamentary session.

The first item on the agenda is expected to be the election of a new Speaker of the House of the People, a contest that has already triggered intense political maneuvering behind the scenes as aspiring candidates position themselves for one of the country’s most influential offices.

However, the planned reopening of Parliament comes at a time of deep political controversy and growing constitutional uncertainty. Opposition leaders and constitutional critics argue that the mandates of Somalia’s federal institutions have already expired. They maintain that the term of the Federal Parliament ended on 14 April, while the presidential mandate expired on 15 May, raising fundamental questions about the legality of any parliamentary proceedings conducted after those dates.