Sunday October 12, 2025
FILE - Somali senators attend a parliamentary session at the Upper House in Mogadishu
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali senators have sharply criticized the Upper House for failing to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, accusing the chamber of becoming largely inactive and detached from the country’s federal system.
During a parliamentary session in Mogadishu, lawmakers said the 54-member chamber has not effectively mediated the recurring disputes between the federal government and regional administrations—one of its primary constitutional mandates.
Senator Abdiqani Geelle, representing Puntland, described the Upper House as “a place to collect salaries,” arguing that it has lost its intended role as a unifying body that represents federal member states.
“Some senators cannot even visit their constituencies, which shows how weak the relationship has become between the Upper House and the people it represents,” Geelle said.
Other senators echoed his remarks, warning that the chamber’s growing irrelevance undermines public confidence in federalism and weakens Somalia’s fragile system of power-sharing. They urged the Senate to reassert its authority as a mediator between the central government and regional states.
Formed in 2016, the Upper House of Parliament was designed to safeguard the federal structure, protect the rights of member states, and ensure that decisions made by the federal government do not infringe on regional autonomy. However, senators said that without clear constitutional implementation, the body remains sidelined in major national decision-making processes.
The criticism follows ongoing tensions between the federal government and several regional administrations, including Puntland, over resource sharing and political representation—issues the Upper House was specifically established to address.