| Muqdisho, 28 January, 2016: The efforts to shape the 2016 political transition in Somalia have reached a critical juncture. For the second time in just four years, a handful of so-called “Signatories” are engaged in extra-constitutional negotiations designed to make potentially lasting decisions on fundamental national matters including political representation, distribution of electoral power and basic citizenship rights. Unfortunately, repeated reliance on an improvisational and transactional approach to managing State affairs is now the standard modus operandi of the whole political establishment in Somalia. Consequentially, Somalia became a nation of men, not a nation of laws.
Despite all the attempts to cloak it in some kind of legitimacy, it remains an inescapable fact that the so-called “National Consultative Forum” circumvented the Federal Parliament’s legislative role. Participants of this Forum act in contravention of Article 47 of the Provisional Constitution which gave the Federal Parliament the authority to enact electoral laws. The said Article clearly states in pertinent part that “The regulations concerning political parties, their registration, elections at the Federal Government level and the National Independent Electoral Commission shall be defined in special laws enacted by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament of Somalia”.
In other words, the President, the Speaker, the Prime minister and the “Presidents” of regional administrations have no legal authority to establish electoral system via this unconstitutional Forum. Hence, any outcome from this Forum must be viewed purely as a political exercise which has no legal bearing whatsoever.
Not only has the current government failed to propose a meaningful electoral system which could lead to a timely and transparent transfer of power but, even more tragically, there is no evidence of any widespread outcry among Somalis over this flagrant violation of the Provisional Constitution. In fact, the ongoing “Consultative Forum” project highlighted a unifying narrative in Somalia where the political negotiations between a handful of politicians and external actors sidelined, perhaps irreversibly, the role of the Somali citizen as the ultimate source of authority in the country as guaranteed by Article 46 of the Provisional Constitution which states in pertinent part “……. The power of self-governance begins and ends with the people, who have the power, where necessary, to hold public institutions and public servants accountable”.
Rarely have citizens of a country so passively left their fate in the hands of a few demonstrably failed politicians. Unless Somalis of good conscience offer a pragmatic alternative (and not merely a lofty idealism), a convergence of factors seems on track to create irreversible trends on the ground which are bound to alter the nature and the very character of our nation forever.
Since its founding, Gurmad called for the institutionalization of the Somali political system and preservation of the intuitional role of the Parliament as the most representative body in Somalia. It emphasized the importance of adhering to the constitutional and legal frameworks as well respect for the institutional role of the existing state institutions, their fragility and weak public trust notwithstanding. Gurmad also consistently called for reforms that could include constitutional, legislative, and institutional aspects as well as accountability mechanisms.
The Way Forward
Because Somalia cannot afford a reversal of the gains made during the end of the transition in 2012, Gurmad sees one of the following options as the only legitimate means of arriving at an electoral model for 2016:
Option One
Institutionalization of the Electoral Process and Respect for the Rule of Law
Gurmad emphasizes that the legislative debates about the nation’s electoral system for 2016 and beyond must occur inside the Federal Parliament of Somalia and NOT at a foreign sponsored extra-constitutional Forum attended by a few politicians. Therefore, Gurmad strongly reiterates that Somali parliament, the nation’s primary law-making body, must not cede its inherent authority of making electoral laws to the “outcome” of the so-called “Consultative Forum”, a process crafted by foreign actors who, in contravention of the Somali law, arbitrarily empowered a few individuals.
Gurmad underscores that the decision of the Speaker to participate in the extra-constitutional negotiations is highly consequential and constitutes a historic betrayal of the institutional role of the parliament. His presence at the Forum implies that the parliament is, for all intent and purpose, is a lame duck body and that the 275 men and women MPs relinquished their constitutional authority in favor of the seven “Signatories”. Now, in order to prevent the usurpation of its legislative role, the Somali parliamentians must immediately force the Speaker to open a parliamentary debate on electoral laws including political party laws. The electoral law must clarify and provide for a legal framework within which the Independent Electoral Commission can manage a transitional administration of power transfer for 2016 within the constitutional calendar.
Options Two
Convene an Inclusive National Constitutional Convention
If the Federal Parliament fails in its constitutional duty to enact a law the necessary electoral laws to move the country forward in line with the Provisional Constitution, Gurmad calls for the convening of an inclusive national Constitutional Convention to debate and address the fundamental political questions facing the nation. The Convention must not be confined to seven unelected politicians; i.e., Signatories rather it must draw representation from a wide array of Somalis including political organizations, civil society, traditional elders, religious leaders, women, youth, Diaspora and other sections of Somalis from all regions and districts of Somalia.
Gurmad underscores that legitimate transfer of power in 2016 is contingent upon the Somali ownership of the entire process without which all processes would only prove an extravagant charade, at best.
Finally, instead of bankrolling extra-constitutional forums that operate outside of the country’s legal frameworks, the International Community should support the promotion of rule of law, constitutionalism and institutionalization in Somalia. |
