Abdirahman Faroole, a prominent senator and the former president of Puntland, urged the current president, Said Abdullahi Deni, not to change the state’s constitution. Faroole, the leader of the opposition Horseed party, voiced worry that changing the constitution would cause issues, particularly given that Puntland is going through a challenging political period.
He claimed that the constitution does not need to be changed because of any urgent situations and accused Deni of only wanting to change it to ensure his election as president and remove any obstacles to his goals.
Faroole’s warning came after news broke that President Deni had called a meeting with political groups to talk about modifying the Puntland constitution. In contrast to the current restriction of three, the proposed reforms would limit the number of political parties allowed in local government elections to five.
The Senior Senator highlighted that any changes to the state constitution must wait until the permanent federal constitution has been ratified. He also said that Deni would be responsible for any problems brought on by these modifications.
Faroole further urged Deni to get back in touch with the federal administration of Somalia in order to effectively represent the Puntland area. The National Consultative Council (NCC), which brings together representatives from the federal administration and regional states of Somalia, did not have Deni present at its previous meeting.