The tenure of the current transitional government ends on August 20.
The special assembly tasked with voting a new constitution for Somalia on Wednesday July 25 began meeting in the capital, Mogadishu to consider the draft provisional document ahead of its ratification via a national referendum. This is to be followed by the election of a new President for the country that has been without a stable central government since the ousting of former President Siad Barre in 1991.
Hundreds of delegates crowded into the meeting hall of a former Police Academy with heightened security provided by African Union troops and government forces, AFP news agency reported. According to Al Jazeera Television, the 825-member National Constituent Assembly (NCA) chosen by traditional elders in a UN-backed process, is to meet for nine days.
As the body began meeting, the UN Security Council in a statement reiterated that Somalia’s transition must end on August 20, expressing concern that deadlines were being missed. The Council therefore urged the country’s transitional government and political leaders to redouble efforts to complete outstanding requirements.
Sounding more upbeat, the US Ambassador to Somalia, James Swan on Wednesday said the country was on the right track, moving forward and making indisputable gains in terms of security as it approaches the end of the transitional period. Swan also said the country had made significant steps in ending the transitional period on schedule.
Billed as the key to lifting Somalia out of two decades of civil war, the end of the transitional government comes as regional forces have seized a series of key strongholds from Al-Shabab fighters. The complicated process is seen as a key step as the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government ends its mandate. Transitional institutions, including the Presidency and Parliament, were set up in 2004.
The draft constitution envisions a Federal Republic with laws compliant with the general principles of Sharia or Islamic law, and proposes a multi-party system with women included in all national institutions. All citizens, regardless of sex, religion, social or economic status, shall have equal rights and duties before the law.
