Somalia’s Lower House members on Saturday debated on a motion to extend the term of the president and the parliament barely a week after the leaders of the federal and the regional governments inked a deal to extend the terms of the leadership and universal suffrage.
The motion to amend the constitution has led to heated debate as the members differed on the aim of the term of office of the president and that of the parliament which is currently four years.
The motion calls for changing to term from four years to five years before fresh presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
Some MPs who opposed the motion argued that the procedures were not followed during the submission of this motion.
Abdirahman Abdishakur, Abdirahman Odawaa, Hassan Firinbi and Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu were among the members who opposed the extension of the term of the government leadership.
Speaking on a motion tabled to change the president and parliament term limits, Somali MP Abdirahman Abdishakur said the current government should not “dream about” a term extension, adding that it could harm the country’s stability.
Moalimu noted that Somali people and the international community will not accept a term extension for the incumbent president, saying that even if parliament votes in favour of the motion, it would be accepted by the public and the international community.”
The leadership of the parliament sent the motion seeking an extension of the government’s term back to a committee for review and change.
