SOMALI PRESIDENT SIGNS NEW CONSTITUTION INTO LAW. (PHOTO).

 Somali president signs new constitution into law

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has signed the country's new constitution into law, bringing to an end a longstanding provisional constitution.

The head of state assented to the constitutional reform in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday. The speakers of Somalia's bicameral parliament witnessed the signing.

President Mohamud said the implementation of the new constitution takes immediate effect, and expressed optimism that the new law would steer the nation "toward political stability."

The constitution introduces a raft of changes, including presidential qualifications, term limits, and the mode of electing the people's representatives to parliament.

New provisions

Under the new supreme law, a person seeking senior elective positions in Somalia must not be married to a foreign national, must not hold dual citizenship, and both their parents must be Somalis, TRT Afrika reported.

For a dual citizen seeking a top political office, they must formally renounce their foreign citizenship.

The amendments directly target the offices of the president, the prime minister, and the speakers of both houses of parliament.

The new constitution also extends the presidential term from four years previously to five years, though the maximum limit is capped at two terms.

Presidential age requirement

Once the president completes their two terms, they automatically become a member of the Upper House of Parliament for life.

According to the revised constitution, presidential and prime ministerial candidates must be aged at least 40 years.

Somalia is also moving away from the complex clan-based election of lawmakers to universal suffrage, where the citizens will directly choose their parliamentary representatives.

However, like previously, lawmakers will continue electing the country's president in a joint parliamentary sitting.

Three layers of government

Somalia's new constitution formally recognises three tiers of government – the federal government, federal member states, and local governments.

This is Somalia's first substantive constitution since 1991, when a civil war broke out.

The new supreme law will replace the provisional constitution adopted in 2012.