House of Representatives (Somaliland)

The House of Representatives (Somali: Golaha Wakiilada, Arabic: مجلس النواب) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Somaliland, with the House of Elders being the upper house.

House of Representatives Golaha Wakiilada مجلس النواب‎ Majlis al-Nuwaab
5th House of Representatives
Type
Type	Bicameral
History
Founded	1991[1]
Leadership
Speaker	Yasin Haji Mohamoud, Kulmiye since 23 July 2023
Structure
Seats	82 members
Political groups	Majority (52)[2]   Waddani (31)   UCID (21) Minority (30)[2]   Kulmiye (30)
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation (regions as constituencies, three party maximum)
Last election	31 May 2021
Next election	2026
Meeting place
Hargeisa
Website
somalilandparliament.net
Footnotes
House of Representatives on Facebook

The interim House of Representatives was formed in 1991, and driven by Somali National Movement.^[1] Somaliland National Charter of 1993 established bicameral legislature.^[3] The current House of Representatives was formed following parliamentary elections held on 29 September 2005, which resulted in a strong combined majority for the opposition Kulmiye and UCID parties. It has a total of 82 members. The latter include the Speaker of the House, Bashe Mohamed Farah.^[4] MPs are elected in six multi-member constituencies, using the party-list proportional representation system for a five-year term.

The constitution gives the House broad legislative powers over financial matters. Its most potent check on executive power is its right to approve, reject, or amend the government's annual budget and the right to inspect annual expenditure reports that the executive is obligated to prepare.^[5] The formation of the parliament in 2005 was the most important step in establishing a constitutionally-based, democratic governmental system in Somaliland.^[6]

Electoral history

2005

No	Region	UCID	Kulmiye	UDUB	Grand Total
1	Sahil	4	2	4	10
2	Awdal	3	3	7	13
3	Sanaag	2	5	5	12
4	Togdheer	4	6	5	15
5	Sool	2	4	6	12
6	Maroodi Jeex	6	8	6	20
		21	28	33	82

2021

No	Region	UCID	Kulmiye	Waddani	Grand Total
1	Sahil	3	4	3	10
2	Awdal	3	5	5	13
3	Sanaag	3	4	5	12
4	Togdheer	4	4	7	15
5	Sool	3	5	4	12
6	Maroodi Jeex	5	8	7	20
		21	30	31	82

Subcommittees

• Standing and disciplinary sub-committee
• Economic, finance and commercial sub-committee
• Social affairs and religion sub-committee
• Environment, livestock, agriculture and natural resources sub-committee
• Internal affairs, security and defence sub-committee
• Foreign policy, International relation and national planning sub-committee
• Constitutional, judiciary, justice and Human rights sub-committee
• Care and protection of public properties sub-committee

List of Parliaments

• 1st Somaliland Parliament (1991–1993) – Majority party: No Party System
• 2nd Somaliland Parliament (1993–1997) – Majority party: No Party System
• 3rd Somaliland Parliament (1997–2005) – Majority party: No Party System^[7]
• 4th Somaliland Parliament (November 2005 – 2021)^[8] – Majority party: UDUB (39%), Kulmiye Party (34%)
• 5th Somaliland Parliament (June 2021–May 2026) – Majority party: Waddani (37.23%)

Speakers

Image	Speaker	Took office	Left office	Notes
	Ibrahim Megag Samatar	1991	1993	[1]
	Ahmed Abdi Mohamed, 'Habsade'	1993	1995	[1]
	Abdirahman xusen, 'beedaani'	1995	1997	[1]
	Ahmed Muhammad Aden, 'Qaybe'	1997	2005	[7][1]
	Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, 'Irro'	November 2005	August 2017	[8]
	Bashe Mohamed Farah	August 2017	August 2021	[8]
	Abdirisak Khalif Ahmed	August 2021	June 2023	[9][10]
	Yasin Haji Mohamoud 'Faratoon'	July 2023

Gallery

• 
  Speaker's chair
• 
  The chamber of the House of Representatives

See also

• History of Somaliland
• Legislative branch
• List of national legislatures

References

1. "History". January 8, 2019.
2. "Somaliland Opposition Joins Forces to Grab Control of Parliament". Agence France-Presse. Voice of America. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
3. "Somaliland International Democratization Support Strategy".
4. "Bashe Mohamed Farah elected Speaker of Somaliland's House of Representatives". The National Somaliland. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
5. Chris Albin-Lackey. "Hostages to Peace" Threats to Human Rights and Democracy in Somaliland" (PDF). Human Rights Watch.
6. Adan Yusuf Abokor, Steve Kibble, Mark Bradbury, Haroon Ahmed Yusuf, Georgina Barrett. "Further steps to democracy" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. "Former Speaker of Somaliland's House of Representatives, Ambassador Qaybe Dies | Somalidiasporanews.com".
8. "Somaliland Parliament picks Bashe Mohamed a new Speaker". Garowe Online.
9. "Somaliland parliament elects Abdirisak khalif as new speaker". 3 August 2021.
10. "Golaha Wakiilada Somaliland oo doortay guddoomiye".