Somalia · Government
Government and administration in Somalia
How the executive, legislature and administrative state are organised, and which body is responsible for what.
The three branches
- Head of state — President
- Elected by parliament; the 2024 amendments contemplate direct election.
- Executive — Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
- Appointed by the President and approved by the House of the People.
- Legislature — House of the People and Upper House
- The upper house represents member states; selection has been indirect.
- Judiciary — Judicial Service Commission
- Administers the federal judiciary.
How legislation is made
Bills are introduced by the government or members and passed by the House of the People, with the Upper House participating on matters affecting member states, before presidential assent. Because Article 2 subjects all legislation to consistency with Sharia and no court exists to adjudicate that limit, and because member-state legislation operates in parallel, the effective legislative picture cannot be described as unified.
Enforcement institutions
- Office of the Attorney General
- Federal prosecution service based in Mogadishu.
- Somali Police Force
- Federal policing alongside member-state police forces.
- Central Bank of Somalia
- Rebuilding regulatory capacity; licenses the mobile-money providers that dominate payments.
- Auditor General
- Publishes audits of federal public finance.
Government bodies and regulators
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