The House of Representatives (, ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Somaliland, with the House of Elders being the upper house.
The interim House of Representatives was formed in 1991, and driven by Somali National Movement. Somaliland National Charter of 1993 established bicameral legislature. 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. 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. The formation of the parliament in 2005 was the most important step in establishing a constitutionally-based, democratic governmental system in Somaliland.
Electoral history
2005 NoRegionUCIDKulmiyeUDUBGrand Total1Sahil424102Awdal337133Sanaag255124Togdheer465155Sool246126Maroodi Jeex68620 Total21283382
2021 NoRegionUCIDKulmiyeWaddaniGrand Total1Sahil343102Awdal355133Sanaag345124Togdheer447155Sool354126Maroodi Jeex58720 Total21303182
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 4th Somaliland Parliament (November 2005 – 2021) – Majority party: UDUB (39%), Kulmiye Party (34%) 5th Somaliland Parliament (June 2021–May 2026) – Majority party: Waddani (37.23%)
Speakers Political parties
Symbols Died in office ImageSpeakerTook officeLeft officePolitical partyNotes 1Ibrahim Megag Samatar1991 1993SNM 2Ahmed Abdi Mohamed, 'Habsade'1993 1995Independent 3Abdirahman xusen, 'beedaani'19951997Independent 4Ahmed Muhammad Aden, 'Qaybe'1997 2005Independent 4 Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, 'Irro' November 2005 August 2017 UCID Waddani 6Bashe Mohamed FarahAugust 2017August 2021Kulmiye 7Abdirisak Khalif AhmedAugust 2021June 2023 Waddani 6Yasin Haji Mohamoud 'Faratoon'July 2023IncumbentKulmiye
Gallery
See also History of Somaliland Legislative branch List of national legislatures
References