Key developments during the first session of the Senate
The Senate concluded its first session Saturday after 28 sittings stretching for over 140 hours and will resume after the Ramadan in July.
The Senate which with the Lower House forms the Federal Parliament of Somalia started business January 1, 2017 when the then Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke officially opened it. Earlier on December 27, the Senators alongside their Lower House counterparts were sworn in.
Over this period, the Senate has covered significant ground working on the building blocks of a new institution.
The Senate conducted elections for its leadership on January 22 choosing Senator Abdullahi Abdi Hashi as Speaker, Senator Abshir Bukhari as first deputy speaker and Senator Mowlid Hussein Guhaad the second deputy Speaker.
In a joint sitting with the Lower House, the Senate elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on February 8 as the 9th president of Somalia and the second post transitional federal government president.
Before proceeding for recess, the Senate concluded the debate, review and adoption of the Senate Rules of Procedure and formation of Senate committees and election of respective chairpersons.
Five Senators were also elected to serve in the joint Constitutional Oversight Committee with the Lower House.
The Senate also heard from and received reports from the Attorney General, the National Independent Electoral Commission and recently the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission.
On the Constitutional Review process, the Senate called for urgent review of a number of articles in the Provisional Constitution which it termed ambiguous and contradictory. In particular it called for review of articles on impeachment of the president, the membership of former presidents in parliament and the legislative powers of the Upper House.
The Senate is however yet to complete the recruitment of the secretariat staff which will be critical in providing support to the Senate proper.