Two Federal Ministers Resign Over Somalia’s Revised Constitution Process
Buraale said he opposed what he described as an incomplete and unilateral constitutional process. He argued that fundamental amendments require broad consultation and national consensus, not approval during a session marked by opposition boycotts.
Somali ministers from Puntland State resign after parliament approves constitutional overhaul
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two Somali federal state ministers from Puntland State resigned Wednesday in protest after lawmakers approved a revised national constitution, escalating a standoff between Mogadishu and regional leaders.
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Aynaashe Yusuf Hussein, state minister for labor and social affairs, and Ismail Buraale, state minister for petroleum and minerals, announced they were stepping down from their cabinet posts shortly after a joint sitting of parliament adopted the amended charter. Both are also members of the House of the People representing constituencies in Puntland State.
In a statement, Aynaashe accused the federal leadership of trying to reshape Somalia’s governance into a system dominated by a single authority, warning the changes threaten national unity and the federal balance. “The people of Puntland State entrusted me with this seat,” he said. “I cannot be part of anything that harms them and their government.”
He further alleged that lawmakers from Puntland State had been obstructed from carrying out their constitutional duties and prevented from traveling to their constituencies, calling the situation a violation of parliamentary rights.
Buraale said he opposed what he described as an incomplete and unilateral constitutional process. He argued that fundamental amendments require broad consultation and national consensus, not approval during a session marked by opposition boycotts.
Somalia’s bicameral parliament approved the revised constitution earlier Wednesday, formally replacing the provisional charter adopted in 2012 at the end of the country’s transitional period. In the joint vote, 223 lawmakers backed the amended document, including 186 members of the lower house and 37 senators.
Government officials have cast the overhaul as a milestone in state-building, saying it clarifies the division of powers between federal and state authorities and strengthens institutional governance. No detailed public response was immediately issued by the presidency or the prime minister’s office regarding the resignations.
Opposition figures contend the process lacked sufficient political consensus and warn it could deepen rifts between the federal government and regional administrations at a sensitive political moment. The latest resignations underscore those widening divisions as Somalia approaches key electoral deadlines and debates persist over the structure of its federal system and the future direction of national governance.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
