Somalia’s parliament has backed constitutional changes that could \u200bextend President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term in office by a year \u200cand push back planned elections.<\/p>\n
The vote happened on Wednesday, and on Thursday analysts who follow the Horn of Africa country closely \u200bwere still debating exactly what the implications are.<\/p>\n
Somalia has \u200bendured conflict and clan battles with no strong \u2060central government since the fall of autocratic ruler Mohamed Siad \u200bBarre in 1991.<\/p>\n
While an African Union peacekeeping mission has pushed \u200bback the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, it still controls vast areas of the countryside and has the ability to conduct regular strikes \u200bon major population centres.<\/p>\n
Mohamud celebrated parliament’s backing \u200bof the constitutional changes at a press conference on Wednesday, saying the \u200capproval \u2060process “had dragged for a long period”.<\/p>\n
Samira Gaid, an Analyst with Balqiis, a Mogadishu-based think tank, said the implications of the constitutional amendments, which have been criticised by opposition lawmakers, \u200bremained unclear.<\/p>\n
“The constitutional \u200bchange doesn’t \u2060automatically extend the current president’s term but it is a matter of interpretation. For now, \u200bthe Mohamud is being very careful not to \u200bsay \u2060that he is extending his term because of potential criticism from the international community,” she said.<\/p>\n
Gaid said the elections slated \u2060for \u200bMay would be delayed regardless because \u200bthere is no agreed framework currently.<\/p>\n
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