MOGADISHU: Somalia passed a new constitution on Wednesday that will see lawmakers directly elected by the public for the first time, despite strong opposition from some parts of the fractured country.
The new constitution was described as “a historic victory” by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre.
Somalia´s lawmakers have previously been selected through an indirect, clan-based system, where elders nominate delegates who choose members of parliament.
The president has then been elected by the two houses of parliament, not by the public.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been pushing for the new constitution and has said that elections will be held in June, but Wednesday´s amendments extended his mandate by one year, indicating that the vote may not take place for another year.
There are questions over Somalia´s ability to hold elections.
The country still faces a major insurgent threat from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the federal government for two decades and controls vast swathes of the states around the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia is also deeply fractured along state lines, with leaders in Jubaland and Puntland strongly opposed to efforts by Mohamud to centralise governance.
