Somalia Ends Decades-Long Transitional Constitutional Era

(MENAFN) Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared a watershed moment for his nation Wednesday, celebrating sweeping constitutional reforms that he said formally closes the chapter on Somalia's prolonged transitional governance era.

Addressing the nation late Wednesday, Mohamud announced that the ratification of Somalia's National Constitution brings the long-standing Provisional Constitution to an official end.

"Today is a historic day, marked by the completion of Somalia's National Constitution & the formal conclusion of the long-standing Provisional Constitution. It's a day that will be remembered for achieving a national milestone that has long been awaited. This a promise made & kept," Mohamud said.

The president framed the constitutional overhaul as a critical breakthrough, arguing it eliminates one of the most stubborn barriers to the country's political, security, and economic progress.

His address followed a landmark parliamentary vote earlier that day, in which both chambers of Somalia's legislature approved the sweeping constitutional changes — effectively terminating decades of transitional rule.

However, the move has drawn swift and sharp backlash. Two powerful regional administrations — the southern state of Jubaland and the semiautonomous state of Puntland — both of which have been locked in a prolonged dispute with the federal government, rejected the changes outright. Opposition figures echoed those concerns.

Prominent opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame warned that pushing through constitutional change without broad consensus "is not reform, it is a gamble with national unity and stability."

The deepening rift signals that while Mogadishu celebrates a constitutional milestone, the path to genuine national cohesion remains far from certain.

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