Somalia+Political+System


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Somalia Constitution:

The Somalia country runs on a Democratic forum. The people vote for who is the president. The president serves as both head as state and head of governement. The president serves one seven year term. The constitution calls for suffrage for men over the age of 18, but does not mention women at all. Women were allowed to start voting in 1981 however, and those improvements were added to the constitution. The main problem with this constitution is that the guerilla soldiers that run over half the country do not abide by these rules. []

Somalia Legislature:

Somalia has a single chamber legislature. There one chamber is called the People's Assembly, and it has been in affect since 1979 (although when Said Barre took control of the country this disappeared). There is 177 members, six chosen by the president, and 171 chosen by direct voting by the Somali citizens. []

Local Government:

Somali local government is split up into sixteen regions each containing three to six districts. THe exception to the rule is the capital region of Banaadir which has 15 total districts. The total number of districts is 84. The people of the regions and districts elect their own local leaders, however the National government has the right to select their own and get rid of the people that the district voted for. So even though the local government elects their own local officials the National government has the final say. []