Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Scuffles and shouting erupted during a joint session of Somalia’s parliament on Wednesday after the speaker moved to advance a package of constitutional amendments that opposition lawmakers said would extend political mandates, forcing the session’s abrupt suspension.
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The confrontation underscored the high stakes surrounding long-delayed efforts to finalize Somalia’s provisional constitution. The country has operated under the temporary charter since 2012, and repeated attempts to settle its core questions — including how power is shared between the federal government and regional member states — have routinely exposed deep political fault lines.
According to lawmakers present, Speaker Adan Madobe announced an unexpected agenda at the start of the joint sitting to amend five chapters of the provisional constitution and moved to distribute written copies to legislators. The proposal drew immediate objections from opposition members, who said the changes would allow a two-year extension of parliament’s term, due to expire in April. The president’s term is set to end in May.
Tempers quickly flared on the floor. Videos shared on social media showed Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, a member of the Upper House who backed the agenda, engaged in a physical confrontation with Hassan Yare, an opposition lawmaker in the Lower House. It was not immediately clear how the scuffle began.
Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsameh, an opposition lawmaker, accused the speaker of attempting to rush the amendments through without following proper procedure. Lawmakers opposed to the move tore up agenda papers, shouted slogans and blew whistles, drowning out proceedings. With the chamber in disarray, Madobe adjourned the session and warned that disciplinary measures would be taken against those responsible for the disruption.
The speaker did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and it remained unclear when deliberations on the proposed amendments might resume or whether the agenda would be reintroduced in a different form. There was no immediate clarity on the full text of the changes after the distribution of documents was interrupted by the commotion.
The confrontation revived memories of a 2021 constitutional crisis, when an attempt under then-President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to extend political mandates triggered armed confrontations in Mogadishu and pushed the country to the brink of wider unrest. The specter of renewed turmoil now looms as the clock runs down on the current terms of office and Somalia’s fragile political calendar.
At the heart of this week’s flare-up is a broader struggle over Somalia’s governance model and the balance of authority between the federal center and the regional member states. Any change to the provisional constitution would carry major implications for the timing of national elections, the distribution of power and resources, and the trajectory of ongoing political reforms.
Wednesday’s events suggest a fraught path ahead. While the government has framed constitutional completion as essential to stability and state-building, opponents warn that any perceived effort to engineer term extensions — even through legal changes — risks reigniting a cycle of confrontation that Somalia can ill afford.
With the joint session adjourned and no timetable announced for resumption, Somalia’s political class now faces a narrowing window to resolve disputes over the constitution and the electoral timeline without sliding back into the brinkmanship that has derailed past transitions.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
