Politics of Somalia
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{{Politics of Somalia}}
The '''politics of Somalia''' are defined by the state of [[civil war]] which, since 1991, has divided the country into various warring entities and autonomist and [[secession|seccessionist]] regions. One area in the northwest, [[Somaliland]], forms a stable although [[diplomatic recognition|internationally unrecognized]] ''de facto'' sovereign state. For information on its politics, see [[Politics of Somaliland]].
At the beginning of [[2007]] [[Somalia]] was consolidating under the [[Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG), which recently completed a military campaign against the [[Islamic Court Union]] (ICU). The TFG is supported by the [[United Nations]]. Until recently, it governed out of an administrative capital in [[Baidoa]]. In the last days of 2006, forces of the transitional government supported by [[Ethiopia]]n forces ousted the ICU from [[Mogadishu]]. Peace keeping forces from the [[African Union]] are expected to support the transitional government in its bid to control the country.
During the war against the ICU, the autonomous [[states]] of [[Puntland]] and [[Galmudug]] had closely aligned themselves with the TFG and the supporting Ethiopian forces, while other former administrations such as [[Southwestern Somalia]], [[Hiraanland]] and the [[Juba Valley Alliance]] fully integrated themselves with the TFG.
Somalia became a united independent state on [[1 July]] 1960 upon the merger of [[British Somaliland]], which had become independent from the [[British Empire|British]] five days earlier on [[26 June]] 1960 and [[Italian Somaliland]], which became independent from the [[Italy|Italian]]-administered [[United Nations Trusteeship Council|United Nations trusteeship]] on [[1 July]] to form the Somali Republic. The territory that was once British Somaliland is the area that now forms Somaliland.
==Political overview==
[[Image:Somalia map states regions districts.png|thumb|250px|left|Map of Somalia's autonomous regions]]
Somalia had no central functioning government following the [[United Somali Congress]] (USC) ouster of Major General [[Siad Barre|Mohamed Siad Barre]] on [[January 27]], [[1991]]. The political situation of the [[Somali Civil War]] has been marked by chaos, interclan fighting, random banditry, internecine warfare between proto-governments and resistance to the state. The breakaway states such as [[Somaliland]] and [[Puntland]] put together functional regional governance. In the rest of the country there are a wide range of semi-functional governments and anarchic conditions under various warlords.
In 2000, the international community recognised the [[Transitional National Government]], originally headed by [[Abdulkassim Salat Hassan]], as the government for the entire country. The government only recently was able to enter the capital because of the violence (see [[Fall of Mogadishu]]).
On [[October 14]], [[2004]] Somali [[members of parliament]] elected warlord [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]], previously president of Puntland, to be the next president. He appointed a cabinet led by Prime Minister [[Ali Mohamed Ghedi]]. Because of the situation in Mogadishu, the election was held in a sports centre in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]. Yusuf was elected transitional President by [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Somalia's transitional parliament]]. He won 189 of the 275 votes from members of parliament. The session of Parliament was also held in neighbouring Kenya. His government is recognized by most western nations as legitimate, although his actual authority is still limited.
Many other small political organizations exist, some clan-based, others seeking a Somalia free from clan-based politics (such as the [[United Somali Front]]). Many of them have come into existence since the new president was chosen.
On [[June 5]], [[2006]], the [[Islamic Courts Union]] (ICU) defeated the [[Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism]] (ARPCT) in the [[Second Battle of Mogadishu]], bringing the ICU to power in the capital. The ICU took control of much of southern Somalia, with the goal of resorting law and order and instituting Islamic [[sharia]] law. Talks between the ICU and the TFG did not lead to reconciliation or settlement<ref name=AN-INTERIM-AGREEMENT-GIVES-ISLAMISTS-AN-EDGE-IN-SOMALIA>{{cite web
|title=An Interim Agreement Gives Islamists an Edge in Somalia
|date=[[2006-09-07]]
|publisher=PINR
|url=http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=550&language_id=1
|accessdate=2007-01-09 }}</ref>. In [[September 2006]], a proposal by the [[Inter-Governmental Authority on Development]] and the [[African Union]] to introduce an 8,000 strong peacekeeping force into Somalia was rejected by the ICU (see [[IGASOM]]). Islamist leaders threatened to turn the country into a graveyard for foreign solders should peacekeepers be introduced.<ref name=SOMALIA-STUTTERS-TOWARDS-STABILITY>{{cite news
|title=Somalia Stutters Towards Stability
|publisher=[[Somaliland Times]]
|url=http://www.somalilandtimes.net/sl/2005/242/22.shtml
|date=2006-09-05
|accessdate=2007-01-09 }}</ref>
The Transitional Federal Government has ambassadors in a few countries, including but not limited to [[Arab League]] states such as [[Saudi Arabia]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Kuwait]], [[Egypt]] and [[Libya]]. It also represents Somalia in the [[United Nations]], the [[Organization of African Unity]] (OAU), the [[Arab League]], [[IGAD]], and other multilateral organizations.
Until the start of 2007 the [[Islamic Courts Union]] operated a government in [[Mogadishu]], after consolidating power from factions of warlords that previously shared control. The ICU leaders are [[Sheikh Sharif Ahmed]], head of the executive committee, and Sheikh [[Hassan Dahir Aweys]], head of [[Shura]]. The USA accuses Aweys and other ICU leaders of links with terrorism. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) brought a degree of law and order to Somalia for the first time since the central government collapsed in 1991. It included the implementation of [[Sharia]] Islamic law. But they were driven out of Somalia in late 2006 and early 2007 by a joint Ethiopian-American offensive.Thousands of Ethiopian troops poured across the border, backed up by American air strikes and American intelligence. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) then went underground.
The [[Transitional Federal Government]] is not a [[liberal democracy]] because it operates not from a [[Constitution]], but from its authority outlined in the [[Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic]] which was ratified by the [[Transitional Federal Parliament]] (TFP) consisting of mostly ''de facto'' powers, such as warlords and other closely selected representatives. There were no general elections for parliament. The Parliament also elected [[President of Somalia|President]] [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]]; he was not elected by popular vote.
Somalia's transitional parliament fired its former speaker [[Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden]] and 30 other lawmakers for failing to attend sessions in recent months on [[April 17]] [[2007]].<ref name=SOMALI-INTERIM-PARLIAMENT-FIRES-31-LAWMAKERS>{{cite web
|title=Somali Interim Parliament Fires 31 Lawmakers
|date=[[2007-04-17]]
|publisher=[[Voice of America]]
|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-04-17-voa50.cfm
|accessdate=2007-04-17 }}</ref>
==Politics since 1991==
[[Image:Flag of Somalia Sky Blue.svg|150px|left|thumb|The flag of [[Somalia]]]]
In the wake of the collapse of the Somali Government in 1991, factions organized around [[military]] leaders took control of Somalia, a form of government referred to as [[warlordism]]. The resulting chaos and loss of life provided the context for the international intervention led by the [[United Nations]] and the [[United States]] (see [[UNOSOM I]], [[UNITAF]] and [[UNOSOM II]]). Because of local resistance to external interference, culminating in the [[First Battle of Mogadishu]], UN operations in Somalia were curtailed, then finally withdrawn in 1995.
{{main|Factions in the Somali Civil War}}
Since 1991, there have been fourteen efforts at national reconciliation; to date, none has been successful.<ref name=BACKGROUND-NOTE-SOMALIA>{{cite web
|title=Background Note: Somalia
|publisher=[[US Department of State]]
|date=[[October 2006]]
|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2863.htm#political
|accessdate=2007-01-09 }}</ref> Various groupings of Somali factions have sought to control the national territory (or portions thereof) and have fought small wars with one another.
In the northwest, there is the secessionist region of [[Somaliland]] with its capital in [[Hargeisa]] that declared its independence in 1991. This [[Isaaq]]-dominated governing zone is not recognized by any major international organization or country, although it has remained more stable and certainly more peaceful than the rest of Somalia, neighboring [[Puntland]] notwithstanding.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/world/africa/05somaliland.html The Signs Say Somaliland, but the World Says Somalia]</ref><ref>[http://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/unia991.pdf UN in Action: Reforming Somaliland's Judiciary]</ref>
[[Puntland]] in the northeast also remains autonomous but supports the Transitional Government and, unlike Somaliland, still considers itself a part of the Somali Republic. [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]], Puntland’s original president, ruled until mid-2001. In November 2001, a convention of elders, in a process disputed by Yusuf, selected Col. [[Jama Ali Jama]] to succeed him. Forces loyal to Yusuf, who had retreated to [[Galkayo]], attacked [[Garowe]] in November, resulting in a de facto division of [[Puntland]]. As many as 30 other factions vie for some degree of authority in the country.
{{main|Disarmament in Somalia}}
Efforts at [[mediation]] of the Somali internal dispute have been undertaken by many regional states. In the mid-1990s, [[Ethiopia]] played host to several Somali peace conferences and initiated talks at the [[Ethiopian]] city of [[Sodere]], which led to some degree of agreement between competing factions. The Governments of [[Egypt]], [[Yemen]], [[Kenya]], and [[Italy]] also have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the [[Organization of African Unity]] and the [[Intergovernmental Authority on Development]] (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali reconciliation. In 2000, [[Djibouti]] hosted a major reconciliation conference (the 13th such effort), which in August resulted in creation of the [[Transitional National Government]], with a 3-year mandate to pursue national reconciliation. In early 2002, [[Kenya]] organized a further reconciliation effort under IGAD auspices.
On [[October 10]], [[2004]], the [[Transitional Federal Parliament]] elected [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]], president of Puntland, to be the next President and formed a new [[Transitional Federal Government]]. Because of the situation in Mogadishu, the election was held in a sports centre in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]. The government located for a time to [[Baidoa]]. It has suffered internal crises, such as ministers quiting and a no confidence vote, but has survived.
<br clear="both"/>
[[Image:Flag of the ICU.svg|150px|left|thumb|The flag of the Supreme Islamic Courts Council]]
{{main|Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006)|War in Somalia (2006–present)}}
In 2006 there emerged the [[Islamic Courts Union]], supported by local businessmen who wanted to reclaim the country from factions of warlords, which effectively ruled it. [[Sharia]] Islamic law was briefly enforced in areas controlled by the Islamic Courts Union. They steadily widened the area they controlled and stopped just short of Baidoa, where the transitional government with support by Ethiopia managed to check their advance. Subsequent fighting resulted in the complete oust of the ICU.
The absence of a functioning central [[government]] in [[Somalia]] since 1991 has allowed outside forces to become more influential by supporting various groups and persons in Somalia. [[Djibouti]], [[Eritrea]], and Arab states have supported the Transitional Federal Government but, following the emergence of the Islamic Courts Union, and the intercession of its regional rival, Ethiopia, Eritrea switched support.
[[Ethiopia]] has provided political support to [[Somaliland]] and for a time assisted a group of southern [[warlords]] organized as the [[Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council]] (SRRC), which opposed the TFG. The warlords were also supported by the [[United States]].
Ethiopia and the United States strongly opposed the Islamic Courts Union and both now support the nascent federal government. Ethiopian forces are located throughout southern and central Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu.
<br clear="both"/>
Since the end of the war with the ICU, Puntland has been under enormous economic and political pressures due to renewed feuding with Somaliland, internal turmoil over the proceeds and land use rights of natural resource exploration especially in non-Majerteen territories in [[Sool]] and [[Sanaag]], and support for the TFG in the south. This culminated in the breakaway of Puntland-administered Sanaag into a new state, Maakhir. It remains to be seen if Puntland will disintegrate further.
<br clear="both"/>
==Executive branch==
{{see|Transitional Federal Government}}
{{office-table}}
|colspan=4|The following persons are ''de jure'' office holders
|-
|[[List of Presidents of Somalia|President]]
|[[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]]
|
|[[10 October]] [[2004]]
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Somalia]]
|[[Nur Hassan Hussein]]
|
|[[22 November]] [[2007]]
|-
|}
==Legislative branch==
{{see|Transitional Federal Parliament}}
The [[Transitional Federal Parliament]] has 275 members, with each of Somalia's four major clans getting 61 seats in the parliament, while an alliance of minority clans was awarded 31 seats.
==Political parties and elections==
{{main|List of political parties in Somalia}}
{{main|Elections in Somalia}}
==Administrative divisions==
Somalia is divided in 18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); [[Awdal]], [[Bakool]], [[Banaadir]], [[Bari]], [[Bay, Somalia|Bay]], [[Galguduud]], [[Gedo]], [[Hiiraan]], [[Jubbada Dhexe]], [[Jubbada Hoose]], [[Mudug]], [[Nugaal]], [[Sanaag]], [[Shabeellaha Dhexe]], [[Shabeellaha Hoose]], [[Sool]], [[Togdheer]], [[Woqooyi Galbeed]]. The North-Western regions seceded as [[Somaliland]]
==International organization participation==
Somalia is member of
[[ACP countries|ACP]],
[[African Development Bank|AfDB]],
[[Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development|AFESD]],
[[Arab League|AL]],
[[Arab Monetary Fund|AMF]],
[[Council of Arab Economic Unity|CAEU]],
[[United Nations Economic Commission for Africa|ECA]],
[[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]],
[[Group of 77|G-77]],
[[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]],
[[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]],
[[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]],
[[International Development Association|IDA]],
[[Islamic Development Bank|IDB]],
[[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]],
[[International Finance Corporation|IFC]],
[[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|IFRCS]],
[[Inter-Governmental Authority on Development|IGAD]],
[[International Labour Organization|ILO]],
[[International Monetary Fund|IMF]],
[[International Maritime Organization|IMO]],
[[International Telecommunications Satellite Organization|Intelsat]],
[[International Criminal Police Organization|Interpol]],
[[International Olympic Committee|IOC]],
[[International Organization for Migration|IOM]] (observer),
[[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]],
[[Non-Aligned Movement|NAM]],
[[Organization of African Unity|OAU]],
[[Organization of the Islamic Conference|OIC]],
[[United Nations|UN]],
[[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]],
[[United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]],
[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]],
[[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]],
[[Universal Postal Union|UPU]],
[[World Federation of Trade Unions|WFTU]],
[[World Health Organization|WHO]],
[[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]],
[[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]],
[[World Trade Organization|WTrO]] (observer)
==See also==
* [[Somali Civil War]]
* [[Factions in the Somali Civil War]]
* [[Kritarchy]]
* [[Anarchy in Somalia]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072592.stm BBC Country Profile] for Somalia
*[http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/Open.aspx?id=3762 report about Somalian Economy] (perhaps dated)
{{Africa in topic|Politics of}}
[[Category:Politics of Somalia| ]]
[[Category:Warlordism]]
[[de:Politik Somalias]]
[[fr:Politique de la Somalie]]
[[pt:Política da Somália]]