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Somalia Legislature
Although the Siad Barre government suspended the National
Assembly following the 1969 coup, a decade later it created a new
single-chamber legislature, the People's Assembly. The
constitution of 1979 stipulated that the People's Assembly have
177 members, including 6 members appointed by the president and
171 chosen by popular election. By contrast, the precoup National
Assembly had only 123 members. Members of the People's Assembly
served a five-year term. Two such assemblies were elected, one in
1979 and another in 1984. The elections scheduled for 1989 were
postponed as a result of the civil strife that by then had
engulfed most of the country.
Critics and opponents of the regime were not permitted to run
in either the 1979 or the 1984 election. Instead, the government
drew up lists of candidates, all of whom were members of the only
legally permitted party (the Somali Revolutionary Socialist
Party--SRSP), and submitted the entire lists for voter approval.
In both instances, the government announced that more than 99
percent of the electorate had approved the official lists. The
People's Assembly also did not truly debate any legislation. It
met for several days each year and ratified whatever laws the
executive had decided to submit for its "approval."
The People's Assembly was not in session when the Siad Barre
government was toppled. The provisional government announced its
intention to hold elections for a new legislature, but as of the
spring of 1992 the continuing political disturbances in the
country had prevented the formulation of definite plans for such
elections.
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