MOGADISHU (SD) – Despite the Somali Future Council issuing an ultimatum to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the day before to completely halt amendments to the country’s provisional constitution, the process has now been accelerated.

The Speakers of both houses of the Federal Parliament of Somalia today met with the committees tasked with reviewing the constitution. During the meeting, the Speakers were presented with proposals for amending Chapters 5 to 9 of the constitution, along with the timetable for debating these proposals.

A meeting between the Federal Government and the Somali Future Council is scheduled for next week in Mogadishu, with constitutional amendments being the most contentious point of dispute between the two sides.

President Hassan Sheikh’s decision to accelerate the constitutional review process immediately after rejecting the opposition’s ultimatum is a deliberate show of defiance and executive power. It signals that he controls the state’s legislative machinery and will not be dictated to by an external political forum. This is a high-stakes gamble to demonstrate strength and control the national agenda, but it risks pushing the opposition into more extreme positions.

Amending Chapters 5-9 of the provisional constitution touches the nerve center of Somalia’s existential disputes.

Chapter 5 (Federal Member States) Defines the powers and relationship of federal states. Chapter 6 (Legislature) Could alter representation and parliamentary structure. Chapters 7-9 (Executive, Judiciary, Independent Commissions) Define the balance of power.

By pushing these amendments, the FGS is attempting to fundamentally reshape the federal balance, likely to centralize more power in Mogadishu—the very issue that alienates Puntland, Jubaland, and the opposition.

The involvement of the Parliamentary Speakers and committees is key. If parliament acts as a rubber stamp for the executive’s proposals, it will lose its legitimacy as a representative body. If it resists or significantly alters the proposals, it could create a rift within the government itself. Parliament’s action will reveal whether Somalia has any institutional checks and balances left.

President Hassan Sheikh’s acceleration of constitutional amendments is the most dangerous domestic political move of his presidency. It is an all-or-nothing bid to centralize power that risks shattering the fragile federal consensus and triggering open conflict between Mogadishu and the federal states.

Next week could determine whether Somalia continues as a federal project or descends into a new phase of multi-sided civil conflict, with a politically isolated central government fighting regional states, political opponents, and Somaliland simultaneously.