ABSTRACT
The United Nations (UN) Security Council warned the al-Qaeda–linked al-Shabaab rebels against trying to impede the peace process in Somalia. The UN's special representative to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, had reported instances of bribes and intimidation in the designation process for new members of Parliament. The ceremony marked the end of eight years of UN-backed Transitional Federal Government transitional federal governance and the long-awaited end of the transitional period in Somalia. Al-Shabaab vowed to disrupt the process of democratization of Somalia. The UN, African Union, and East Africa's main diplomatic body, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, warned in a rare joint statement that efforts at establishing peace in Somalia were at risk. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia is the supreme law of Somalia and provides the legal foundation for its existence. The provisional constitution allowed for the creation of the Houses of the Federal Parliament, consisting of the House of the People and the Upper House.
