Somalia: Government

Somalia is governed under a provisional constitution approved in 2012. The Federal Parliament consists of a 275-seat House of the People, whose members are chosen for four-year terms by an electoral college named by clan elders because the civil war has made direct election too difficult, and a 54-seat Upper House (to be chosen for the first time in 2016), elected by state governments to four-year terms. The parliament elects the president, who serves for a single four-year term. Administratively, the country's 18 regions are grouped into six states.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Independence and Its Aftermath
• Early and Colonial Periods
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People

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