MOGADISHU — Lawmakers from Somalia’s Puntland who were recently prevented from traveling to their regional capital have now been allowed to return to their constituencies, one of the legislators confirmed on Thursday.
The lawmakers, representing both chambers of Somalia’s federal parliament and affiliated with Puntland, said they were cleared to depart for their regions after days of restrictions that had forced them to remain in Mogadishu.
Speaking to Shabelle TV from Aden Adde International Airport, one of the lawmakers said the group had been permitted to travel to Garowe, the administrative capital of Puntland.
The legislators had been staying at the Airport Hotel in the capital after claiming they were not allowed to leave the city until Somalia’s provisional constitution was approved.
On Wednesday, lawmakers from both houses of the Federal Parliament of Somalia voted overwhelmingly to adopt the country’s revised provisional constitution following a lengthy review and amendment process.
The authorization for the Puntland lawmakers to travel is seen by observers as a step toward easing political tensions between the federal government and Puntland authorities, while reaffirming the rights of members of parliament to represent their constituencies.
