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Federal Parliament of Somalia

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Federal Parliament of Somalia

The Federal Parliament of Somalia (Somali: Golaha Shacabka Soomaaliya; often Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya; Arabic: البرلمان الاتحادي في الصومال) is the national parliament of Somalia. Formed in August 2012, it is based in the capital Mogadishu and is bicameral, consisting of an upper house (Senate) and a lower house (House of the People).

The first parliament in independent Somalia was the unicameral National Assembly (1960–1969). It was followed by the unicameral House of the People (1969–2012) which did not function during the Somali Civil War. The unicameral Federal Parliament was established in 2012, and in 2016 was reformulated as a bicameral body, when the Senate of Somalia was established.

As part of the official "Roadmap for the End of Transition", a political process devised by former Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas which provided benchmarks leading toward the establishment of permanent democratic institutions in Somalia by late August 2012, members of Somalia's then ruling Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and other administrative officials met in the northeastern town of Garowe in February 2012 to discuss post-transition arrangements. After extensive deliberations attended by regional actors and international observers, the conference ended in a signed agreement between TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Gaas, Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, Galmudug President Mohamed Ahmed Alim and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a representative Khalif Abdulkadir Noor. The agreement stipulated a new 225-member bicameral parliament would be formed, consisting of an upper house seating 54 senators and a lower house, of which 30% of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) would be earmarked for women, the president would be appointed via constitutional election, and the prime minister would be selected by the president, who would then name a council of ministers.

On 23 June, TFG and regional leaders approved a draft constitution after several days of deliberation. The NCA, which consists of 30 elders drawn from each of the country's four major Somali clans (Darod, Dir, Hawiye, Rahanweyn) and 15 from a coalition of minority groups based on a power-sharing formula, overwhelmingly passed the new constitution on 1 August. 96% of the 645 delegates present voted for it, 2% against it and 2% abstained. For the constitution to come into effect, it must be ratified by the new parliament.

On 18 August 2012, a list of 202 new parliamentarians was released, with a total of 215 legislators eventually sworn in on 20 August. A further 15 nominated lawmakers were approved by the Technical Selection Committee (TSC), an independent body officially tasked with vetting the applicants. However, verification of their paperwork was still pending before they could be officially sworn into parliament.

The remaining candidates that were submitted by the NCA's elders to the TSC were rejected for failing to meet specific criteria agreed upon by stakeholders that partook in earlier agreements, including the Galkayo and Garowe Principles accords. The minimal selection criteria required potential MPs to be Somali nationals possessing a "sound mind", to have at least a high school diploma, to be capable of carrying out parliamentary duties, and to have no reported links with warlords, rebels, armed groups and other potential spoiler elements. The TSC also based its screening procedure on detailed background information on the parliamentary candidates that was forwarded to it by the United Nations and the African Union.

The inaugural session of parliament was held on 20 August 2012, at the Mogadishu airport since the main parliament building was undergoing renovations. The outgoing President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament all attended the ceremony in the capital, which witnessed the swearing in of most of the MPs and the selection of a new interim Speaker.

The tenth Parliament of Somalia was inaugurated on 27 December 2016.

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