No five-year term for current President, leaders meeting in Mogadishu resolve

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: A two days meeting chaired by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and comprising former national leaders has resolved that the five-year period for a presidential term will not apply to the current president but a new one who will be elected in 2026.

The meeting noted that a new President from 2026 will serve for five years instead of four years as is currently the case. The decision ends the simmering debate and claims that President Mohamud was seeking to extend his stay in office through the NCC proposals.

According to a communique following the conclusion of the two day’s consultative meeting in Mogadishu, the proposal regarding the political system of governance should be subjected to wide public consultations before the matter is closed. The NCC in its resolution in May proposed that the country adopts a presidential system which effectively scraps the position of Prime Minister.

The NCC which is a forum between the Federal Government and Federal Member States noted that the adoption of a one-person-one-vote system should also extend to the presidential level giving Somalis a direct ticket to vote for their president. Under the current parliamentary system build on a clan power distribution system, MPs are elected by a caucus of clan representatives while Senators are elected by state parliaments.

A joint session of the Federal Parliament subsequently elects a President who then nominates a Prime Minister and presents the choice to the Lower House for approval.

The meeting of the current and former leadership in Mogadishu which has been billed as a ‘historic’ gathering of Somali leaders also resolved that Somalis should have the choice of ascribing to various political parties. This is contrary to an NCC proposal which capped the number of political parties to two.

On the constitutional review process, the leaders called for the process to be fast-tracked noting it was key to the functioning of the government.