The Somali Republic’s 1960 parliament merged both territorial assemblies into 123 members

Evidence

Despite the celebration and the quick agreement on the draft constitutions, some minor differences remained between the authorities of the two territories. These divergences notwithstanding, neither the Northern nor the Southern elite doubted the merits of the union. However, events were moving so rapidly and everyone was so enchanted with independence and unification that the harmonization of the two acts of union did not occur immediately. The most urgent and agreed-on priorities were the formation of the national parliament and the appointment of the government. Parliament was established through the combination of the two territorial assemblies on July 1, 1960. The newly organized parliament of the Somali Republic had 123 members (33 from the North and 90 from the South). Parliament’s first task was to elect its own leaders to preside over the chamber’s deliberations and manage the nation’s legislative agenda. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 506