A three day conference on the constitution bringing together more than 350 stakeholders kicked off in the Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday marking official launch of the Provisional constitution review process.
Stakeholders gathered at Mogadishu’s Royal Palace Hotel for the National Constitutional Convention which was officially opened by Lower House Speaker Mohamed Mursal representing President Mohamed Abdullahi Framaajo who jetted off to Qatar earlier in the day for a two day state visit.
Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Khaire told the delegates that the the review process is a top priority for the Federal government .
“This constitution is owned by Somalis we need to put all our resources to have a constitution and every one knows the rights and responsibility. We have to finalise the constitution to have one man one vote in the 2020 elections” Khaire said.
The Stakeholders are drawn from a cross-section of Somalis in the country and the diaspora.
Jubbaland regional state has however boycotted the event citing it was not officially communicated.
Deliberations in the National Constitution Conference will be held in the regional states and the diaspora.
Somalia’s provisional constitution which the country seeks to review, was adopted on August 1, 2012 by the National Constitutional Assembly. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Federal Republic and is the source of the country’s legal authority, which sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of government.
